THE  AMERICAN 
EMPEROR 


WILLIAM  SALISBURY 


DUKE 

UNIVERSITY 

LIBRARY 

Treasure  %oom 

Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2010  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


http://www.archive.org/details/americanemperornOOsali 


THE  AMERICAN 
EMPEROR 


A   NOVEL 

BY 

WILLIAM    SALISBURY 


>L 


NEW  YORK 

The  Tabard  Inn  Press 

*9'3 


Copyrighted,  191 3,  by 
WILLIAM  SALISBURY 

Registered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London 
(All  Hights  Reserved) 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


"77.  ft. 


To 

B.  O.  FLOWER 

Founder  of  The  Arena  and  The  Twentieth 
Century,  and  last  of  the  independent 
magazine  editors. 

Chief  enlightener  as  to  our  feudalism  of 
privileged  wealth,  you  have  launched  many 
a  brilliant  shaft  against  its  aggressions, 
doing  perhaps  more  than  any  one  other 
man  to  stay  the  coming  of  the  intellectual 
night  which  now  threatens  to  descend 
upon  our  country. 


CONTENTS 


BOOK  FIRST— CLAY  JEFFERSON  GORMAN. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  The  Dawning  of  Ambition I 

II  At  Heidelberg 12 

III  Early  Triumphs 18 

IV  A  Honeymoon  in  Italy 28 

V  His  First  Railroad 36 

VI  Wife  and  Mistress 48 

VII  A  Profit  of  One  Million 53 

VIII  His  First-Born 58 

IX  The  Great  Reorganizer 59 

X  A  Political  Contest 65 

XI  A  Speech  in  the  Senate 69 


BOOK  SECOND— MERCEDES. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     An  International   Marriage 77 

II     A  Discussion  of  Heraldry 84 

III  "The  Whipped  Dog  Fears  the  Lash" 91 

IV  A  Dream  of  Empire 98 

V     The  Opinions  of  Theodora 103 

VI     Mercedes 108 

VII     Plans  of  Rival  Financiers 114 

VIII     The  Durkins'  Retreat 118 

IX     A  Proposition  to  a  Husband 122 

X    A  Temptation  on  a  Mountain  Top 130 


CONTENTS 
BOOK  THIRD— GORDON  LYLE. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     Four  Years  in  Journalism 137 

II     He  Sees  a  Vision 145 

III  The  Moonlight  Club 151 

IV  A  Letter  from  Mercedes 160 

V     Planning  to  Scale  the  Alps  of  Popular  Disapproval.  162 

VI     A  Mysterious  Tip 166 

VII    A  Substitute  Lackey 171 

VIII    The  Creation  of  a  New  Monster 175 

IX    A  Second  Mysterious  Message. 184 

X    The  Coal  Trust 191 


BOOK  FOURTH— THE  GREAT  BOND  CONSPIRACY. 

CHAPTER  •  PAGE 

I     Lyle  and  Mercedes  Meet 201 

II     Delaval  Explains  the  Bond  Deal 205 

III  A  Discourse  on  Republics 214 

IV  A  Yachting  Party 220 

V    Mercedes  Leaves  the  Party 226 


BOOK  FIFTH— THE  OLIGARCHY. 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

I  Some  Opinions  of  Delaval 235 

II  Lyle  Introduces  His  Wife 241 

III  Glacken  Hall 245 

IV  Valet  and  Butler 254 

V  New  Jersey 257 

VI  Pirates  of  the  Southern  Seas 264 

VII  The  Cruise  of  the  Buccaneer 270 

VIII  The  Forward  Magazine  Is  Founded 27s 

IX  The  Stock  Exchange 277 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

X    "We  Have  Exalted  Trade  Until  It  Is  Seated  Upon 

a  Throne" 284 

XI     Father  and  Daughter 291 

XII     The  Story  of  Major  Armitage 296 

XIII     The  Dance  of  the  Marionettes 306 


BOOK  SIXTH— THE  EMPEROR. 

CHAPTER  PAGI 

I     The  Patron  of  Art 311 

II     The  Fate  of  Reform  Magazines 315 

III  Newport 321 

IV  Inside  the  Palace 330 

V    The  Dinner 336 

VI     The  Pursuit 342 

VII     Imperial  Revenge 351 

VIII     The  Marble  Library 353 

IX    At  the  Endowed  Theater 359 

X    "The  People  Need  a  Lesson" 367 

XI     The  Prelude 373 

XII     The  Panic 376 

XIII  The  Bal  de  Tete 387 

XIV  The  Greatest  of  Them  All 393 


The  American   Emperor 

BOOK    FIRST 
CLAY  JEFFERSON  GORMAN 


CHAPTER    I 

THE  DAWNING  OF  AMBITION 

There  was  a  tumult  in  the  mind  of  Clay  Gorman. 
Three  events  had  just  changed  the  course  of  all  his 
thoughts.  He  had  finished  reading  a  "Life  of  Na- 
poleon." His  rich  and  powerful  uncle  from  the  me- 
tropolis had  shown  a  deep  interest  in  him.  And  he 
had  met  at  a  neighbor's  house  a  girl  whom  he  desired 
as  he  had  never  desired  anything  before. 

His  age  was  seventeen  years,  his  home  a  common- 
place abode  in  a  New  England  village  before  the  Civil 
War.  He  had  never  traveled  more  than  forty  miles 
from  that  place.  And  seventeen  is  an  impressionable 
age.  The  emotions  and  passions  are  as  strong  as  they 
ever  become,  while  the  mind  is  at  the  dawn  of  its 
greatest  vigor. 

As  Napoleon,  by  reading  of  the  lives  of  Caesar,  Alex- 
ander and  Mohammed,  had  been  fired  with  a  desire  to 
be  like  them,  so  young  Gorman  now  burned  to  be 
Napoleonic.  The  careers  of  all  the  martyrs  and  saints, 
statesmen  and  philosophers,  artists  and  poets  that  he 
had  ever  read  or  heard  of  did  not  appeal  to  him  half 
so  strongly  as  did  this  story  of  the  Man  of  Destiny. 


2  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

To  teach  humanity,  to  uplift,  to  guide  aright  or  to 
better  the  race,  or  to  sacrifice  one's  life  for  a  great 
cause — all  this  seemed  to  be  little  worth  while  com- 
pared with  the  glory  of  the  conqueror.  To  shatter 
armies  and  traditions,  to  wipe  out  boundary  lines,  to 
make  kings  wait  in  ante-chambers,  to  choose  what 
piincess  one  will  wed,  to  found  dynasties  and  create 
nobilities — that  was  the  height  of  earthly  achievement. 
Especially  was  it  glorious  for  one  born  of  the  people. 
And  Napoleon  was  a  "self-made"  man,  as  Clay's  uncle 
was,  as  most  successful  Americans  were,  as  Clay  him- 
self intended  to  be.  And  Napoleon,  he  read  with 
secret,  self-congratulatory  delight,  resembled  himself 
in  more  than  one  way.  The  great  conqueror  had  been 
wont  to  impress  his  will  upon  others  at  an  early  age. 
He  had  even  chastised  his  elder  brother  on  occasions. 
So  had  Clay  Gorman.  His  eyes  were  blue.  So  were 
Clay  Gorman's.  His  hair  was  dark.  So  was  Clay  Gor- 
man's. And  his  nose  was  large — not  in  the  way  that 
Clay  Gorman's  was,  to  be  sure,  but  it  was  large.  The 
conqueror's  nasal  appendage  was  greater  than  the  aver- 
age in  size  because  of  its  somewhat  Romanesque  bone 
structure.  Clay  Gorman's  was  exaggerated  by  a  sur- 
plus of  tissue,  being  slightly  bulbous,  but  its  bulk 
was  about  the  same  as  that  of  the  masterful  Corsican's. 
Clay's  uncle,  Asa  Gorman,  had  been  successively 
farmer's  son,  dry  goods  clerk,  merchant  and  banker. 
Years  ago  he  had  left  this  small  town  of  Tilbury,  Mas- 
sachusetts, to  find  a  larger  field  for  his  financial  oper- 
ations in  New  York.  He  was  now  on  a  visit  here  dur- 
ing an  early  summer  lull  in  business,  and  was  filling 
in  some  of  his  leisure  hours  by  instructing  the  younger 
son  of  his  brother's  widow  in  the  world's  ways.  The 
boy's  father  had  died  two  years  before,  leaving  the 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  3 

widow  only  a  small  annuity  out  of  his  gains  as  a  mer- 
chant, and  her  two  sons  had  been  compelled  to  cease 
their  studies  at  an  academy  in  a  nearby  town  and  sup- 
port themselves  by  clerking  in  village  stores. 

Asa  Gorman  found  his  nephew  a  ready  listener. 
Like  at  least  a  few  of  the  self-made  men  of  to-day, 
he  was  seldom  happier  than  when  telling  of  his  own 
achievements.  And  what  he  said  now  sunk  deep  into 
the  brain  of  the  ambitious  youth. 

"I've  made  my  money  by  keeping  cool  while  other 
people  were  excited,"  he  said,  as  he  sat  on  the  front 
porch  puffing  a  fragrant  cigar,  while  Clay  inhaled  with 
delight  such  wreaths  as  were  wafted  his  way.  The 
very  aroma  of  the  choice  tobacco  had  an  inspiring 
effect  upon  the  boy.  He  resolved  then  and  there  to 
arrive  speedily,  by  hook  or  crook,  to  the  point  where 
he  could  hold  just  such  Havanas,  in  such  a  white,  well 
manicured  hand,  and  fill  the  circumambient  air  with 
fragrant  smoke  for  others  to  inhale. 

"This  is  the  age  of  commercial  opportunity,"  the 
uncle  went  on,  philosophically,  rubbing  his  smooth- 
shaven  chin.  "All  government  rests,  in  the  last  analy- 
sis, upon  business  credit.  Take  that  away,  and  the 
whole  structure  falls.  If  Napoleon's  wars  had  not 
bankrupted  France,  his  power  would  have  lasted  much 
longer  than  it  did.  (The  nephew's  interest  grew  more 
intense  at  this  point).  Upon  the  ruins  of  his  empire, 
the  Rothschilds  built  their  power.  And,  by  the  way, 
that  was  the  smoothest  thing  in  history,  the  way  old 
Rothschild  hurried  to  London  after  Waterloo,  and  by 
a  lot  of  half  truths,  and  melancholy  shakings  of  the 
head,  and  doleful  looks,  gave  out  the  impression  that 
Napoleon  had  won  the  battle,  and  then,  when  prices 
fell,  bought  right  and  left.     It's  much  better  to-day  to 


4  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

be  a  Rothschild  than  a  descendant  of  Napoleon,  though 
one  of  the  Bonapartes  is  seated  on  a  temporary  throne. 
The  Rothschilds  and  other  bankers  hold  the  whip  hand 
in  the  affairs  of  nations.  And  they  can  so  manage 
that  no  matter  which  side  loses  in  war,  they  will  win. 
So  can  bankers  here,  if  they  will  only  be  a  little  wise. 

"Now,  you're  a  bright  lad,  Clay,"  he  went  on,  light- 
ing a  fresh  cigar,  and  brushing  a  bit  of  ashes  off  the 
knee  of  his  costly  trousers.  He  turned  his  deep-set, 
beady  eyes  upon  his  nephew,  favoring  him  with  a 
longer  look  than  he  usually  gave  any  one.  He  was 
pleased  to  see  a  strong,  hard-set  jaw  like  his  own,  and 
eyes  which  held  a  glitter.  If  those  eyes  had  shone  with 
idealism  instead,  he  would  have  ended  the  conversation 
right  there.  "You're  a  bright  lad,"  he  repeated,  "and 
you  should  learn  at  once  that  this  is  the  age  of  money, 
no  matter  how  much  war  talk  you  may  hear.  And  in 
this  country  in  particular,  the  man  in  trade  is  not 
looked  down  upon.  Sometimes  he  can  mix  politics 
with  his  business,  but  business  should  come  first.  My 
partner,  Peyton,  tried  Congress  for  a  while,  but  he 
found,  after  one  term,  that  he  was  wasting  his  time. 
He  could  get  others  to  do  things  for  him  there  much 
more  conveniently  than  he  could  do  them  himself. 
Those  who  stick  to  business  and  let  others  chase  the 
butterflies  of  glory  will  come  out  ahead — particularly 
in  America." 

Much  more  of  the  same  kind  of  philosophy  was 
uttered  by  the  uncle  that  day,  and  on  other  days,  in 
this  summer  of  1856.  And  as  he  was  to  his  nephew 
the  living  embodiment  of  success,  the  impression  his 
words  left  was  deep  and  lasting.  Before  he  returned 
to  New  York,  Asa  Gorman  promised  that  if  Clay 
made  three  hundred  dollars  within  a  year  from  that 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  5 

date,  above  his  salary  as  a  clerk,  he  would  give  him  a 
like  sum  to  do  with  as  he  pleased.  Nothing  was  said 
as  to  how  the  money  was  to  be  acquired.  "This  is  a 
country  full  of  opportunities,"  his  uncle  told  him. 
"Look  about  you.  I  hope  you'll  develop  the  right  met- 
tle.'' And  he  thought  of  himself  as  an  eagle  who 
throws  a  fledgling  from  a  nest  with  a  hint  that  choice 
morsels  of  food  may  be  found  in  the  world  of  experi- 
ence. 

His  distinguished  relative  gone.  Clay  Gorman  busied 
his  brain  with  plans  to  achieve  his  first  step  toward 
wealth  and  power.  When  he  and  his  brother,  Zacha- 
riah,  were  invited  to  an  evening  party  at  a  neighbor's 
house,  the  brother  was  eager  to  go,  but  Clay  felt  that 
he  would  be  frittering  away  his  time.  Such  frivolities 
were  for  commonplace,  unthinking  youths  and  mai- 
dens, not  for  dominant  personalities  such  as  himself. 

As  he  walked  down  a  poplar-shaded  lane  toward 
his  home  in  the  late  afternoon  of  the  day  before  the 
party,  he  was  turning  over  in  his  mind  a  plan  he  had 
conceived  the  morning  before  while  selling  a  railway 
contractor  a  pair  of  suspenders.  He  had  heard  the 
contractor  tell  the  proprietor  of  the  store  that  he  had 
exhausted  his  supply  of  ties  with  which  the  railway 
was  being  built  to  Springfield.  The  road's  headquar- 
ters had  been  remiss  in  shipping  a  badly  needed  con- 
signment. At  once  Clay  was  reminded  of  a  grove  of 
oaks  on  a  farm  near  the  village.  He  recalled  that  the 
owner  of  the  farm  was  hard  pressed  for  money  because 
of  the  illness  and  death  of  a  child,  and  that  a  mortgage 
on  his  home  was  overdue.  "I  have  seventy  dollars 
saved  that  no  one  knows  of,"  he  thought.  "If  he  will 
take  that  as  a  first  payment,  and  I  can  get  help  in  cut- 


6  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

ting  the  trees,  and  pay  for  the  work  after  I  collect  from 
the  contractor,  I  may  make  some  hundreds  in  profit." 

But  the  farmer  had  demanded  a  hundred  dollars 
down.  Clay  suspected  that  Zachariah  had  some  money. 
And  by  spying-  upon  him  that  evening  through  a  key- 
hole (Napoleon  had  peaked  through  keyholes),  he 
had  seen  him  secrete  a  bill  in  the  lining  of  his  Sunday 
hat.  When  he  accused  him  of  having  money  that 
should  have  been  given  to  their  mother,  Zachariah 
confessed  that  he  wanted  to  surprise  her  with  a  silk 
dress  as  a  birthday  present.  Clay  thereupon  deter- 
mined to  get  this  cash  in  some  way  before  it  was  thus 
uselessly  spent. 

These  were  the  days  in  which  the  country  was  being 
profoundly  stirred  by  talk  of  coming  war.  Sumner's 
famous  speech  in  the  Senate  upon  the  crime  against 
Kansas  by  the  slave  power  was  ringing  in  the  people's' 
ears  with  insistent  and  clamorous  note.  "The  rape 
of  a  virgin  territory,  compelling  her  to  the  hateful 
embrace  of  slavery,"  and  other  powerful  phrases  were 
repeated  from  mouth  to  mouth.  The  bodily  assault 
upon  the  orator  by  a  Congressman  had  added  fuel  to 
the  flames.  Great  souls  that  were  to  be  tested  in  the 
furnace  heat  of  civil  conflict  were  everywhere  being 
exalted  for  the  ordeal. 

But  Clay  Gorman  did  not  need  to  remember  his 
uncle's  advice  to  keep  cool.  Fine  phrases  could  not 
sweep  him  off  his  feet.  Webster's  "Liberty  and  union, 
now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable,"  Seward's  "irre- 
pressible conflict,"  Lincoln's  "a  house  divided  against 
itself  cannot  stand,"  to  him  meant  only  that  the  North 
was  bent  on  keeping  the  South  within  the  Union  at  any 
cost.  The  poems  of  Whittier,  the  speeches  of  William 
Lloyd  Garrison  and  Wendell  Phillips,  pulpit  prayers 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  7 

and    fulminations,    John    Brown's    heroic    death-all  m 
these  roused  in  him  only  thoughts  of  how  he  could 
become  an  officer  if  war  came,  or  whether,  by  his 
uncle's  aid,  he  could  make  money  from  army  contracts 
When  he  reached  home  the  next  evening  he  found 
his  brother  all  ready  for  the  party.     Zachanah  had 
usually  ignored  him  in  his  social  plans,  looking  down 
upon  him  from  the  height  of  superior  years  until  Clay 
had  shown  ability  to  chastise  him.    And  now,  in  a  spirit 
of  generosity  born  of  respect  for  superior  muscles 
Zachanah  urged  him  to  put  on  his  best  coat  and  hat 
and  accompany  him.    He  even  promised  to  lend  him 
a  new  silk  cravat,  and  to  pay  for  a  shave  at  a  barber 
shop  a  sybaritic  luxury  that  was  a  great  bribe  in  itself 
to  almost  any  rural  youth.     With  that  hidden  money 
in  mind,  Clay  was  already  more  than  half  inclined  to 
go.     Frivolity  would  have  its  uses  if  it  helped  him 
along  the  road  to  ultimate  riches. 
"Where  is  the  party  ?"  he  asked. 
"At  the  Pembrokes'." 

"The  Pembrokes' !  Why  didn't  you  tell  me  that  be- 
fore?" 

He  made  the  most  careful  toilet  of  his  life,  including 
a  fancy  waistcoat  which  his  uncle  had  left  behind 
upon  discovering  that  their  sizes  were  the  same. 

The  brothers  arrived  late,  and  found  many  guests 
already  assembled.  Wax  candles  glittered  in  every 
window,  and  brilliant  chandeliers  lighted  the  broad 
hallway  and  the  drawing  room,  these  things  alone 
being  evidence  of  wealth.  The  house  was  of  a  substan- 
tial Colonial  style.  The  Pembrokes  were  rated  socially 
as  the  county's  best,  and  Clay  Gorman  thought  them 
the  most  worthy  of  cultivation  of  anyone  he  knew. 
A  grandfather  of  the  present  head  of  the  house,  by 


8  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

bestowing  upon  an  early  Legislature  a  testimony  in 
currency  of  his  esteem,  had  received  a  land  grant  that 
yielded  his  descendants  a  large  income  in  rents.  Part 
of  this  income  had  been  so  judiciously  used  that  char- 
ters for  water  power  rights  and  for  railway  lines  had 
vastly  increased  the  family's  wealth.  They  had 
acquired,  among  other  things,  an  escutcheon.  Clay 
Gorman  felt  that  his  own  ancestors  had  failed  signally 
to  take  advantage  of  similar  opportunities  in  the  new 
republic.  Both  wealth  and  a  family  shield  should  some 
day  be  his,  he  resolved. 

Marie  Dalton  was  the  first  girl  introduced  to  him 
that  evening.  She  might  have  been  the  only  one, 
in  so  far  as  he  could  afterward  remember.  Her  eyes 
were  of  the  deep,  luminous  blue  of  a  perfect  summer 
sky;  her  hair  as  black  as  a  raven's  wing,  her  cheeks 
wax-like,  with  just  a  suggestion  of  color;  her  graceful 
neck  and  shoulders  cream-colored  and  glossy  and 
alluring.  Though  hoopskirts  concealed  the  lower  part 
of  her  form,  anyone  with  eyes  could  have  told  that  a 
girl  with  such  shoulders  possessed  other  physical  attri- 
butes in  keeping. 

''Marie  Antoinette  Dalton  is  my  full  name,"  she  said, 
when  he  had  taken  her  away  from  the  other  guests  for 
a  stroll  down  a  rose-lined  walk.  "My  mother  is  de- 
scended from  a  French  family  who  sympathized  with 
the  royal  cause  in  the  great  revolution.  She  had  to 
take  to  the  stage  when  young  to  escape  a  life  of  pov- 
erty, and  she  has  been  training  me  in  Boston  for  the 
same  career.  My  father  lived  only  a  few  years  after 
I  was  born.  He  was  an  Irish  soldier,  who  was  killed 
in  South  America  while  fighting  for  the  Spanish 
cause." 

There  was  a  sweet  melancholy  in  her  tones,  which 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  9 

were  vibrant  and  softly  melodious.  About  her  entire 
being  was  an  aura  new  to  the  village  youth.  Untaught 
in  the  ways  of  women  of  the  world,  he  knew  nothing  of 
cosmetics  or  of  the  subtle  art  of  Parisian  perfumers. 
But  he  felt  instinctively  that  here  was  a  rare  exotic 
that  fate  had  been  kind  enough  to  bring  within  his 
view  for  the  nonce,  and  her  presence  filled  him  with 
unnameable  longings.  And  he  was  sure  that  no  artifice 
could  have  created  the  substantial  charms  which  the 
candle  light  had  shown,  and  which  the  rays  of  the 
moon  now  made  only  the  more  alluring. 

"And  my  full  name  is  Clay  Jefferson  Gorman," 
he  responded.  "I,  too,  have  some  French  blood, 
through  an  ancestor  on  my  mother's  side,  but  my 
ancestor  fought  with  the  revolutionists.  But  if  he  had 
lived  until  now,  and  had  seen  all  the  results  of  the 
revolution,  perhaps  he  wouldn't  have  been  so  much 
against  royalty,"  he  added,  as  a  concession  to  her 
views. 

"You,  however,  could  hardly  be  a  royalist,"  she 
averred.  "Your  name  is  too  democratic.  Clay  and 
Jefferson — why,  you'd  have  to  change  your  very  name 
first." 

"Yes,"  he  said.  "One  of  my  parents  admired  Clay, 
and  the  other  Jefferson,  and  so  I  got  both  those  names 
for  my  own.  I'm  told  that  I  ought  to  run  for  office, 
since  the  Whigs  and  Democrats  both  would  vote  for 
me. 

"Tra-la-la,"  she  sang  out,  suddenly,  in  flute-like 
tones,  "such  arguments  don't  interest  me — I  mean  the 
politics  of  it,  though  the  names  are  strong  and  fine. 
But  let's  talk  about — or,  no — let's  pick  roses,  or  climb 
an  apple  tree.  Are  there  any  apple  trees  on  this  old 
place?" 


io  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

His  heart  leaped  in  anticipatory  delight.  In  a  voice 
that  he  tried  to  keep  calm,  he  said  there  were  two  at 
the  end  of  the  walk.  They  strolled  along,  and  when 
they  came  to  the  first  tree,  he  said  it  was  the  better 
one,  although  he  knew  the  branches  of  the  other  came 
lower. 

He  clasped  his  hands  together  and  held  them,  palms 
upward,  and  she  placed  a  small  slippered  foot  within 
them.  Then  she  grasped  him  by  the  shoulder  with  one 
hand  and,  giving  a  graceful  leap  upward,  caught  a 
limb  with  the  other.  A  few  agile  movements,  and  she 
had  drawn  herself  to  a  seat  almost  before  he  realized 
that  she  had  started  to  climb.  He  saw  only  a  flash  of 
lingerie,  and  an  elusive,  maddeningly  brief  view  of  a 
voluptuous,  silk-stockinged  leg  to  the  knee. 

"Physical  culture  is  one  of  the  things  I  had  to  learn 
at  school,"  she  said,  as  he  clambered  up  beside  her. 
There  he  spent  the  shortest,  most  delicious  quarter  of 
an  hour  he  had  ever  known.  To  be  near  her,  to  hear 
that  musical  voice,  to  get  occasional  exhalations  of 
that  sensuous  perfume,  to  see  the  fortunate  moonbeams 
play  hide  and  seek  upon  her  lips  and  bosom — all  this 
was  a  kind  of  intoxication.  That  she,  the  daughter  of 
one  of  the  queens  of  the  mimic  world,  and  herself  a 
possible  future  queen  of  that  realm,  should  deign  to 
spend  her  time  with  him  was  flattering  to  the  village 
youth.  He  did  not  know  that  the  Pembrokes  had  told 
her  of  his  relationship  to  the  mighty  Asa  Gorman. 
Nor  could  he  know  that  his  masterful  way  of  taking 
her  to  himself  as  soon  as  they  met  had  appealed  to  her 
feminine  nature. 

But  here  was  a  game,  he  thought,  worthy  of  the 
best  art  in  sportsmanship — the  pursuit  and  capture  of 
such  a  radiant  creature.    With  no  amatory  experience 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  n 

save  a  few  surreptitious  hugs  and  kisses  snatched  from 
village  maids,  he  yet  felt  instinctively  that  a  woman 
trained  in  the  arts  of  the  stage  is  to  the  majority  of  men 
the  most  alluring  because  the  most  seen  and  admired  of 
her  sex,  since  it  is  human  to  want  to  possess  what  every 
one  else  desires. 

Strange  thoughts  for  a  Christian  youth,  reared  in  a 
Puritan  family,  amid  ideal  New  England  surround- 
ings !  But,  he  told  himself,  he  was  a  person  of  strong 
individuality,  a  dominant  personality  who  would  decide 
for  himself  in  questions  of  ethics  and  of  morals.  Had 
not  Napoleon,  when  reproached  by  Josephine  for  his 
pursuit  of  women,  responded  that  he  was  not  as  other 
men,  but  was  superior  to  all  others  and  could  do  as  he 
pleased?  Yes,  Napoleon  had  insisted  upon  having  his 
own  way — his  dark  and  dominant  way — with  women. 
And  Napoleon  had  been  a  Christian  young  man,  too, 
and  had  eventually  restored  the  Church  in  France. 

First  love  never  had  a  more  propitious  opening  scene 
than  it  now  had.  The  air,  languorous  with  dew  and 
the  scent  of  flowers,  was  suddenly  filled  with  the  music 
of  nature's  orchestra  in  its  evening  overture.  The 
cicadas'  resonant  drumming  mingled  with  the  flute-like 
notes  of  the  crickets,  while  from  a  distant  pool  came 
the  vibrant  tones  of  bullfrogs  in  violoncello  accompani- 
ment. Overhead  the  moon,  a  brilliant,  pearly  globe, 
surrounded  by  the  jeweled  constellations,  hung  like  a 
huge  chandelier  in  the  dome  of  heaven. 

There  is  no  telling  how  serious  a  drama  might  have 
begun,  despite  the  hoopskirts  that  prevented  him  from 
sitting  as  close  as  he  desired,  wh^n  voices  calling  to 
them  from  the  house  ended  his  temporary  paradise. 

"Oh,  we  must  get  down  at  once,"  she  cried,  looking 
about    for   a    foothold.      And   Clav   Gorman    showed 


12  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

Napoleonic  ability  right  there.  Leaping'  to  the  ground, 
he  stood  directly  beneath  her,  pushed  aside  a  limb  by 
which  she  might  have  descended,  held  out  his  arms  and 
said,  "Come!" 

She  allowed  herself  to  slide  into  his  embrace,  and 
was  crushed  to  his  bosom.  Struggling  free  in  time  to 
escape  his  kisses,  she  fled  up  the  moonlit  walk,  looking 
over  her  shoulder  as  she  ran.  A  laugh  bubbled  from 
her  lips — a  laugh  that  was  both  a  taunt  and  an  invita- 
tion, and  he  hastened  in  pursuit.  Her  skirts  were  caught 
by  the  eager  thorns  of  a  rose  bush  in  the  shadow  of 
a  large  pine  tree  near  the  end  of  the  graveled  path, 
and  there  she  was  held  until  he  was  almost  upon  her. 
She  tore  herself  loose  in  time  to  elude  him,  and  sped 
like  a  winged  nymph  into  the  moonlight,  up  the  broad 
stairs,  between  the  white  pillars,  and  on  through  the 
mansion's  open  doorway. 

"Damnable  little  witch — I'll  get  her  yet!"  he  mut- 
tered, as  he  slackened  his  pace,  and  followed  her  slowly 
into  the  house. 


CHAPTER   II 


AT    HEIDELBERG 


The  country  was  in  the  throes  of  civil  war.  It  was 
a  gigantic  national  travail,  in  which  the  Republic  was 
to  be  reborn.  Although  conceived  in  liberty  and  dedi- 
cated to  equality,  the  nation  had,  for  the  lifetime  of 
three  generations,  led  a  dual  life  before  the  world.  Its 
laws  proclaimed  the  right  of  all  to  life,  liberty  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness,  and  yet  four  millions  of  human 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  13 

beings  were  held  in  fetters  in  its  Southern  States.  And 
an  arrogant  slave  power,  not  content  with  its  sway  over 
half  the  land,  was  seizing  upon  the  virgin  territories  of 
the  West,  and  dragging  them  into  the  Plutonian  realms 
of  bondage.  Then  arose  many  legions  of  freemen, 
inspired  by  orations  and  songs,  by  poems  and  preach- 
ments, by  books  and  battle  hymns.  Hills  and  valleys 
were  covered  by  moving  forests  of  bayonets,  seas  were 
dotted  with  ships  of  war,  rivers  were  spanned  by 
bridges  of  boats.  Love  of  country  was  put  higher  than 
love  of  kin,  and,  in  the  conflict  that  ensued,  half  a 
million  lives  were  sacrificed  that  a  nation  of  thirty 
millions  might  be  united  and  free. 

And  while  his  country  was  torn  by  strife,  Clay  Gor- 
man was  studying  in  foreign  halls  of  learning  the 
science  of  government,  and  other  sciences,  and  dream- 
ing dreams  of  greatness.  A  vastly  different  person 
in  appearance  was  he  from  the  village  youth  who,  in 
the  moonlit  garden  of  the  Pembrokes,  had  pursued 
Marie  Dalton  to  the  mansion's  door.  He  was  wearing 
the  latest  European  style  of  clothes  now,  and  smoking 
the  best  of  cigars,  and  mingling  with  cosmopolitan 
groups  of  noble  and  wealthy  students. 

Success  beyond  his  hopes  had  crowned  his  first 
financial  scheme.  His  deal  in  railway  ties  had  netted 
him  four  hundred  dollars  in  six  months,  or  a  hundred 
more  than  the  amount  his  uncle  had  promised  to  dupli- 
cate if  it  were  made  within  a  year.  He  reported  the 
fact,  enclosing  proofs,  but  did  not  mention  that  one- 
third  of  the  purchasing  price  had  been  loaned  by  his 
brother,  to  whom  he  paid  two  dollars  as  interest.  Asa 
Gorman  was  so  pleased  that  he  told  him  to  come  to 
New  York  at  once.  He  gave  him  six  hundred  dollars 
in  cash,  and  a  clerkship  in  his  bank  at  an  advanced 


14  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

salary.  But  this  was  only  the  beginning  of  his  good 
luck.  His  uncle,  himself  childless,  became  as  a  second 
father  to  him.  And  such  business  talent  did  he  show 
that  the  banker  grew  to  look  upon  him  as  his  own  suc- 
cessor. That  he  might  the  better  fill  this  role,  he  was 
sent  to  a  private  tutor  after  office  hours  every  day  to 
finish  the  training  begun  in  the  Massachusetts  acad- 
emy. Even  then  his  education  was  still  deemed  in- 
complete for  the  responsibilities  that  the  great  growth 
of  the  Gorman  firm  promised  for  the  near  future,  and 
a  course  at  Heidelberg  followed.  Asa  Gorman  had 
heard  that  the  German  system  of  mathematics  was 
the  best  in  the  world.  He  wanted  his  clever  nephew 
to  have  only  the  best. 

After  the  first  few  weeks  at  the  ancient  university, 
young  Gorman  did  not  mingle  much  with  the  other 
students.  He  preferred  to  dwell  apart,  holding  himself 
aloof  from  their  swinish  beer  drinking  contests,  their 
midnight  feasting,  and  their  athletic  sports.  He  be- 
came known  as  the  student  who  never  fought  a  duel, 
and  who  never  visited  the  gymnasium.  He  knew  that 
dueling  was  sometimes  fatal,  and  that  often  it  left 
scars.  He  could  never  understand  the  pride  with 
which  some  men  carried  such  scars  through  life.  He 
had  heard,  too,  that  athletes  oftener  than  not  die  earlier 
in  life  than  other  people.  He  wished  to  conserve 
his  strength  in  every  way. 

He  spent  much  of  his  time  walking  about  the  famous 
Heidelberg  Castle,  which  overhung  the  western  part  of 
the  town.  No  ruins  in  Germany,  he  was  told,  equaled 
in  grandeur  or  in  size  these  relics  of  former  glory  in 
Baden.  Near  eight  hundred  years  had  passed  since 
those  battlements  and  towers  had  been  built.  He  liked 
best   to   stroll   about   in   the   courtyard,    where    four 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  15 

immense  pillars,  brought  from  Charlemagne's  palace 
at  Ingelheim,  still  reared  their  granite  lengths  skyward, 
where  so  much  else  had  fallen  to  decay.  These  seemed 
to  him  to  express  the  spirit  of  imperialism  undaunted 
in  the  midst  of  the  changing  forms  of  government  in 
all  the  ages  since  their  erection. 

Reaction  was  again  in  the  saddle  in  Europe  after 
almost  a  century  of  effort  by  the  forces  of  reform. 
Revolutions  had  been  suppressed  in  Baden  and  else- 
where in  Germany,  and  a  new  Emperor  ruled  in  France 
above  the  ruins  of  the  second  republic.  The  ideas  of 
Metternich  prevailed  throughout  Europe  in  place  of 
the  ideals  of  Danton  and  Robespierre  and  the  "giants 
of  '93."  And  would  the  millions  who  were  being 
driven  by  this  reaction  across  the  sea  to  democratic 
America  find  there  a  guarantee  of  permanent  liberty? 
He  did  not  think  so. 

The  German  philosophers  then  most  in  vogue 
appealed  to  him  strongly.  Their  ideas  helped  to  round 
out  the  system  of  life  which  he  had  crudely  planned 
for  himself  before  leaving  his  native  village.  He 
shared  Schopenhaur's  contempt  for  the  average  man, 
and  despised  humanity  in  the  mass,  but,  unlike  Scho- 
penhauer, he  was  not  going  to  proclaim  this  fact  to  the 
world.  Nietszche's  doctrine  of  the  inherent  superiority 
of  and  the  necessity  for  the  overman,  when  it  was  pub- 
lished some  years  later,  met  with  his  entire  approval 
also. 

He  loved  life,  though  he  could  not  love  humanity. 
He  had  feelings,  but  they  were  capable  of  development 
as  passions  rather  than  as  emotions.  He  could  be 
transported,  he  could  forget  self  only  when  giving  way 
to  intense  physical  desires.  Realism  was  his  gospel: 
"In  the  beginning  there  was  appetite,  passion,  will." 


16  THE   AMERICAN    EMPEROR 

Ideas  had  no  original  force  of  their  own.  It  was  this 
old  doctrine  reasserted  that  made  Schopenhauer 
attractive  to  him.  But  he  did  not  follow  Schopenhauer 
in  the  hope  of  refining  sensual  desires  into  agents  of 
higher  things.  He  was  rather  inclined  to  accept  the 
theory  that  all  thought,  every  emotion,  every  human 
aspiration  was  based  upon  the  senses — that  there  was 
nothing  in  the  mental  or  spiritual  world  that  could  not 
be  traced  to  a  physical  cause. 

But  while  he  believed  that  all  religious  creeds  were 
thus  to  be  accounted  for,  he  had  no  intention  of  staying 
without  the  pale  of  the  Church.  Of  course,  no  one 
could  follow,  literally,  Christ's  teachings  and  be  re- 
garded as  other  than  a  foolish  fanatic  in  modern 
society.  But  religious  associations  were  a  great  aid 
to  public  confidence,  and  public  confidence  was  a  lead- 
ing asset  in  his  scheme  of  life.  He  would  pursue  his 
career  along  the  lines  of  least  resistance,  and  there  was 
sure  to  be  much  less  resistance  in  a  Christian  land  to 
one  cloaked  in  orthodoxy  than  to  anyone  destitute  of 
so  attractive  and  popular  a  garb.  And  he  thought,  too, 
upon  the  fact  that  in  America,  the  land  of  religious 
liberty,  few  words  were  ever  said  against  one  creed  in 
favor  of  another.  The  subject  had  become  taboo  in 
politics.  The  public  prints  avoided  it,  or  touched  upon 
it  lightly.  All  that  was  necessary  was  to  adopt  some 
one  of  the  recognized  Christian  beliefs  as  one's  own, 
and  people  of  other  creeds  would  be  satisfied. 

As  he  desired  social  position  along  with  other  kinds 
of  success,  he  early  decided  upon  the  Episcopal  Church. 
The  fact  that  its  membership  was  largely  Tory  during 
the  Revolution,  and  the  other  fact  that  its  English 
original  had  persecuted  his  own  Puritan  ancestors 
and  driven  them  across  the  sea,   did  not  affect  his 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  17 

course.  He  cared  no  more  for  the  tragic  martyrdom 
of  the  Puritans  than  for  the  fate  of  the  embattled  farm- 
ers of  Lexington.  "The  shot  that  was  heard  around 
the  world"  had  always  seemed  to  him  a  foolishly  exag- 
gerated phrase,  and  the  men  behind  the  shot,  crazed 
enthusiasts. 

Hardly  had  the  Civil  War  broken  out  when  Clay 
received  a  letter  from  his  uncle,  urging  him  to  return 
to  New  York.  He  had  not  yet  graduated,  but  the 
need  of  his  presence  was  such  that  he  was  asked  to 
forego  the  honor  of  a  degree.  Asa  Gorman  was  going 
to  London,  there  to  join  his  partner  in  representing 
the  American  government's  financial  affairs  during 
the  war.  Clay  was  wanted  to  manage  the  New  York 
office  in  their  absence. 

And  so  to  the  land  of  strife,  though  not  to  actual 
scenes  of  strife,  he  returned.  As  he  drove  uptown 
from  the  wharf,  evidences  of  the  national  turmoil  met 
his  view  upon  every  hand.  Drum  and  fife  corps  were 
marching  about,  newly  recruited  soldiers  were  drilling 
by  daylight  and  by  lamplight,  patriotic  airs  were  being 
played  and  sung  in  theatres  and  out  of  doors,  impas- 
sioned speeches  inspired  crowds  in  halls  and  mobs  in 
streets,  and  even  the  most  fragmentary  news  from 
the  front  drew  excited  thousands  about  bulletin  boards. 
But  he  was  more  than  cool  through  it  all.  He  was 
cynical  and  calculating.  At  twenty-three  years  of  age 
one  should  be  willing  to  die  for  a  great  cause,  if  ever. 
But  he  thought  only  of  living  for  himself.  The 
speeches  that  inspired  the  souls  of  others  only  made 
him  wonder  what  political  or  military  office  the  speak- 
ers wanted.  The  emotional  enthusiasm  with  which 
thousands  marched  through  the  streets,  causing  multi- 


18  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

tudes  to  cheer  and  wave  banners  and  clap  their  hands, 
never  infected  him. 

He  had  by  this  time  abandoned  all  thoughts  of  a 
military  career.  Weighing  carefully  the  chances  in 
that  field,  he  decided  that  the  risks  far  overbalanced 
the  possibilities  of  success.  He  had  not  lost  his  ad- 
miration for  Napoleon.  But  he  felt  that  Napoleonic 
abilities  in  war  could  not  achieve  the  results  in  demo- 
cratic America  that  they  had  achieved  in  monarchical 
Europe.  Besides,  he  had  learned  that  while  republics 
are  often  ungrateful,  bank  balances  are  always  potent. 
And,  as  his  uncle  had  said,  this  was  pre-eminently  the 
age  of  capital. 


CHAPTER   III 


EARLY  TRIUMPHS 


Clay  found  a  long,  confidential  letter  from  his  uncle 
awaiting  him  in  the  firm's  new  offices  in  Nassau  street. 
Forty  clerks  were  now  employed  there  instead  of  the 
half  dozen  that  had  sufficed  in  the  smaller  quarters 
occupied  before  his  departure  for  Europe.  And  for 
himself  there  was  a  private  apartment  partitioned  off 
in  polished  wood  and  ground  glass,  with  his  name 
inscribed  thereon  in  gilded  lettering.  He  sat  down 
in  a  cushioned  chair  before  a  mahogany  desk  to  read 
the  letter  from  London. 

"For  our  present  purposes,  we  want  a  gloomy  report 
of  the  outlook  for  the  Union  cause,  no  matter  what  the 
real  situation  is,"  he  read.  "Mail  it  at  once  and  enclose 
some  clippings  of  unfavorable  opinions  that  have  been 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  19 

printed  in  the  newspapers  in  the  last  few  months.  Of 
course,  I  do  not  need  to  tell  you  that  there  must  be  no 
date  marks  on  these  clippings,  unless  the  dates  are 
recent.  Follow  with  other  similar  letters  from  time  to 
time  until  otherwise  instructed." 

There  was  much  more  of  the  letter,  but  this  was  the 
gist  of  it.  The  report  was  quickly  made  up  and  sent. 
Not  until  many  weeks  later,  when  Clay  learned  that 
his  uncle  had  heavily  invested  in  English  factories,  did 
he  understand  the  motive.  The  factories  of  England 
were  selling  supplies  to  the  Confederacy.  The  foreign 
allies  of  the  firm  who  pointed  the  way  to  such  invest- 
ments were  in  turn  informed  of  the  real  state  of  the 
Union  cause,  and  thus  knew  when  to  buy  or  sell  Fed- 
eral bonds,  while  the  general  public  bought  and  sold  at 
the  wrong  time.  The  Atlantic  cable  was  not  yet  laid, 
so  that  advices  by  mail,  and  usually  private  advices, 
formed  the  only  news  that  investors  relied  upon.  And 
Gorman,  Peyton  &  Company  were  the  government's 
own  agents,  so  why  should  not  their  advices  have  been 
believed  before  all  others  ? 

From  his  studies  in  law,  Clay  knew  how  treason  was 
defined  by  his  country's  Constitution.  Citizens  who 
levied  war  upon  the  nation,  or  gave  aid  and  comfort 
to  the  enemy,  were  traitors.  Yet  Gorman,  Peyton  & 
Company  were  not  only  giving  aid  and  comfort  to  the 
enemy,  but  were  speculating  upon  the  misfortunes  of 
their  country.  And  they  were  rapidly  becoming  richer 
thereby.  Their  wealth  mounted  by  leaps  and  bounds. 
When  the  tide  of  war  submerged  a  nation's  hopes,  it 
brought  treasure  into  their  coffers.  When  the  tide  ran 
out,  the  treasure  remained — aye,  and  it  grew  again 
with  the  rising  fortunes  of  the  Union.  And  now  Clay 
fully  realized  the  wisdom  of  his  uncle's  words  uttered 


20  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

five  years  before :  "A  wise  man  in  the  world  of  finance 
can  so  manage  things  that  no  matter  which  side  loses 
in  war,  he  will  win." 

After  some  months  of  labor  as  a  subordinate  in  these 
profitable  maneuvers,  Clay  began  to  yearn  to  demon- 
strate his  own  genius  in  finance.  He  felt  that  the 
time  was  ripe  to  show  that  his  able  relative's  faith  in 
him  had  not  been  wrongly  placed.  Of  course,  his  uncle 
was  satisfied  with  him  thus  far.  This  he  showed  by 
giving  him  more  and  more  responsibility,  and  a  larger 
and  larger  share  of  profits.  The  nephew's  income 
was  now  as  great  as  that  of  the  Governor  of  the  State, 
and  he  was  barely  twenty-three.  But  individuality  and 
personal  power  were  what  he  wanted,  what  he  yearned 
for,  what  he  meant  to  have.  Looking  about  him  for 
a  means  of  demonstration,  he  decided  upon  army  con- 
tracts. This  was  the  field  in  which  even  greater 
returns  were  to  be  realized  than  by  any  of  the  processes 
of  private  banking.  It  was  the  field  in  which  his 
uncle's  firm  was  most  largely  profiting  abroad. 

On  all  sides  he  saw  wealth  being  created  in  a  seem- 
ingly magic  way  by  speculators  in  supplies  for  those 
legions  who  were  moving  southward  in  ever  increasing 
numbers  to  overwhelm  the  forces  of  rebellion.  Before 
the  war  began,  even  to  the  very  hour  of  its  commence- 
ment, Northern  factory  owners  had  sold  munitions  to 
those  who  were  preparing  to  use  them  against  their 
own  government.  And  now  yet  greater  profits  were 
being  garnered  by  the  sale  of  the  remnants  of  these 
supplies  to  the  Northern  armies.  Food  which  enfeebled 
rather  than  strengthened,  haversacks  which  fell  to 
pieces,  tents  and  blankets  already  mouldering  to  decay, 
guns  more  dangerous  to  their  users  than  to  the  enemy, 
ships  that  foundered  a  few  days  after  leaving  port — in 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  21 

things  such  as  these  were  laid  the  chief  foundation 
stones  of  the  new  aristocracy  of  wealth  that  was  rising 
above  the  groans  of  a  nation  in  travail. 

The  Union  army  had  been  beaten  back  at  Bull  Run, 
and  fear  for  the  cause  of  the  North  had  gripped  the 
stoutest  hearts,  when  Clay  read  in  a  newspaper  that 
five  thousand  condemned  carbines  reposed  in  a  New 
York  arsenal.  These  were  part  of  a  great  number 
which  had  been  declared  unserviceable  by  inspecting 
officers  just  before  the  war  opened.  Thousands  of  the 
same  kind  had  been  auctioned  off  at  one  or  two  dol- 
lars each.  But  now  that  war  had  actually  begun,  rifles 
of  all  kinds  were  scarce,  and  almost  any  sort  were 
better  than  none.  A  clerk  from  the  office  of  Gorman, 
Pevton  &  Company  appeared  at  the  arsenal  one  day, 
and  offered  three  dollars  each  for  the  supply  on  hand. 
The  offer  was  accepted  when  the  well  known  banking 
firm  was  given  as  security. 

"I  had  heard  that  the  army  in  Tennessee  was  in 
great  need  of  supplies,"  Clay  wrote  to  his  uncle,  in  a 
triumphant  report  of  his  operation  some  months  later. 
"But  I  waited  several  weeks  after  getting  the  option 
on  the  rifles,  so  as  to  seem  not  to  have  known  this. 
Then  I  telegraphed  General  Bludsoe  that  I  could  fur- 
nish him  with  new  carbines  for  five  regiments  of  cav- 
alry. The  general  quickly  responded  with  an  order  for 
all  on  hand.  Then,  and  then  only,  did  I  make  a  pay- 
ment at  the  arsenal  on  my  purchase.  I  sent  at  the 
same  time  a  check  for  fifteen  thousand  dollars  to  the 
arsenal,  and  a  bill  to  the  general  for  a  hundred  and  ten 
thousand." 

When  the  rifles  arrived  there  was  explosive  anger  in 
the  military  headquarters  on  the  banks  of  the  Missis- 
sippi.    Soon  the  bill  followed,  and  there  was  more 


22  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

anger.  "The  guns  would  shoot  off  the  fingers  of  the 
soldiers  who  tried  to  use  them,"  said  the  general.  "The 
army  shall  not  be  robbed  in  this  way." 

Clay  did  not  include  these  facts  in  his  report,  but 
continued  in  this  wise : 

"The  general  in  command  refused  to  pay,  but  I  out- 
maneuvered  him,  and  made  him  bow  to  a  strategy 
superior  to  that  taught  in  military  tactics.  My  lawyer 
— one  of  the  cleverest  obtainable — took  the  matter  be- 
fore a  committee  of  Congress.  He  could  do  nothing 
there,  but  that  was  only  the  first  step.  The  War 
Department's  commission  on  claims  was  appealed  to, 
and  it  decided  that,  inasmuch  as  the  rifles  had  actually 
been  delivered,  half  price  should  be  paid  as  the  best 
way  out  of  a  bad  bargain.  But  half  price  was  accepted 
only  'on  account,'  and  the  Court  of  Claims  was  the 
next  citadel  stormed.  Then  it  developed  that  I  had 
made  a  lucky  choice  in  my  counsel,  for  he  knew  some- 
thing about  the  past  record  of  the  most  grave  and 
reverend  seignior  who  presides  over  the  court.  What 
it  is  I  cannot  say,  for  he  is  keeping  it  to  himself,  but 
anyhow,  the  court  decided  that  the  sacredness  of  con- 
tract demanded  that  the  claim  be  paid  in  full.  And 
thus  I  sold  to  the  government  its  own  condemned 
munitions  of  war  at  more  than  seven  times  its  own 
price,  and  purchased  with  funds  furnished  by  itself." 

Imported  champagne  was  quaffed  at  an  elaborate 
dinner  given  by  the  victor  to  his  lawyer  and  a  few 
select  friends  at  the  Astor  House  a  few  weeks  after 
this  momentous  decision.  The  table  was  arranged 
next  a  marble  fountain,  which  was  topped  by  a  statue 
of  Victory.  A  quartet  of  escaped  slaves  sang  plan- 
tation songs  and  played  upon  banjos  for  their  amuse- 
ment.    As  Clay  listened  to  the  melodies,  and  mused 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  23 

happily  over  a  congratulatory  letter  he  had  received 
from  his  uncle  that  morning,  he  felt  that  he  had  been 
wise  indeed  not  to  go  to  the  front  in  this  war.  Only 
the  day  before  he  had  read  of  a  band  of  starving  Union 
soldiers  who,  coming  upon  the  decaying  carcass  of  a 
mule  in  a  snow  bank,  had  eaten  ravenously  of  the 
remains.  And  fevers  and  other  maladies  due  to  ex- 
posure and  hardship  were  wreaking  a  greater  havoc 
than  bullets  among  both  officers  and  men.  Ugh  !  And 
how  glad  he  was  that  he  had  paid  three  hundred  dol- 
lars for  the  hiring  of  a  substitute,  in  accordance  with 
the  law  passed  by  Congress  at  the  behest  of  monied 
men! 

He  had  arrived  at  the  point  in  his  musings  where  he 
figured  his  profits  on  this  single  deal  at  a  sum  equal 
to  the  salary  then  paid  the  President  for  a  term  of  four 
years,  when  the  voices  of  the  negroes  and  the  tinkle 
of  their  banjos  were  drowned  out  by  sounds  of  con- 
flict from  the  street.  There  was  the  trampling  of  many 
feet,  followed  by  shouts  and  curses,  and  then  half  a 
dozen  revolver  shots,  immediately  succeeded  by  a  vol- 
ley of  musketry. 

"What's  that?"  he  asked,  turning  a  blanched  face 
toward  his  lawyer,  who  had  rushed  to  the  window. 

"Another  draft  riot,"  was  the  reply.  "They  killed 
seventy-five  yesterday,  mostly  niggers — that  is,  the 
rioters  killed  the  niggers,  and  the  soldiers  shot  about 
a  dozen  rioters.  I  notice  five  or  six  bodies  being  car- 
ried away  now,  so  maybe  yesterday's  record  will  be 
equaled  to-day  if  they  keep  on." 

As  soon  as  the  sounds  of  conflict  died  away  the  din- 
ner was  resumed. 

As  he  rode  home  from  the  banquet,  Clay's  attention 


24  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

was  attracted  by  the  sight  of  a  pictured  face  on  a  the- 
atrical lithograph  in  a  store  window.  It  was  a  face  he 
could  never  forget,  and  underneath  it  was  the  name, 

Marie  Antoinette  Dalton 

His  blood  leaped  in  his  veins,  and  a  wave  of  delight- 
ful memories  and  unsatisfied  longings  swept  over  him. 
He  stopped  the  carriage  long  enough  to  learn  at  what 
theatre  she  was  appearing,  and  the  next  day  he  went 
there  to  inquire  about  her.  He  was  told  that  she  was 
living  at  the  Clarendon  Hotel. 

When  he  arrived  at  the  hotel  she  was  preparing  for 
a  drive  after  a  late  breakfast.  She  sent  him  word  that 
he  might  come  to  her  apartments  for  a  few  moments. 

"And  so  this  is  Mr.  Clay  Jefferson  Gorman?"  she 
said,  fingering  the  card  that  had  been  brought  to  her, 
and  smiling  at  him  with  frank  interest.  She  saw  at 
once  that  the  young  man  before  her  was  vastly  dif- 
ferent from  the  village  youth  whom  she  had  teased 
and  flouted  six  years  before.  She  had  not  seen  him 
after  that  one  night,  avoiding  him  with  a  plea  of  head- 
ache when  he  called  the  next  afternoon,  and  returning 
to  Boston  two  days  later.  But  she  had  heard  of  his 
uncle's  interest  in  him,  and  of  his  foreign  studies,  and 
was  now  not  unwilling  to  be  gracious  to  the  young 
financier  who  wore  an  imported  cassimere  suit  and 
Parisian  boots,  and  had  a  diamond  in  his  fancy  cravat 
of  sufficient  value  to  start  a  company  on  the  road. 

"Yes,  I  use  my  name  in  full  now,  if  that  is  what  you 
mean,"  he  replied.  "And  you,  too,  I  notice,  are  spelling 
yours  in  full.  But  a  successful  and  beautiful  actress 
has  a  right  to  as  many  pretty  names  as  she  may  wish 
to  use." 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  25 

"Ah,  I  see  you  have  learned  how  to  say  nice  things," 
she  said,  laughing  low  and  musically.  She  was  more 
alluring  to  him  than  ever  as  she  sat  upon  a  couch  in  an 
attitude  of  easy  grace,  her  perfect  neck  and  shoulders 
gleaming  through  a  diaphanous  shawl.  He  had  seen 
the  Empress  Eugenie  as  she  rode  through  the  streets 
of  Paris,  acclaimed  as  the  multitude's  darling,  and  he 
had  been  charmed  by  her  Spanish  beauty.  And  he 
thought  that  here  was  one  who,  in  Eugenie's  place, 
would  be  equally  charming.  Marie  Dalton's  years  on 
the  stage  had  given  her  an  added  grace  and  poise,  and 
time  had  ripened  the  beauty  that  a  few  years  before 
had  promised  so  much.  The  sparkle  of  her  eyes  was 
more  subdued,  more  subtle,  yet  even  more  dangerous 
than  ever.  Her  lips  were  as  tantalizingly  red  and 
inviting  as  on  the  night  they  had  eluded  his  own,  and 
as  she  smiled  now  they  seemed  to  hold  both  invitation 
and  mockery. 

"But  I  am  not  successful,"  she  went  on,  and  her 
tones  became  melancholy.  "These  are  not  the  days 
when  theatrical  success  means  much  reward  in  money. 
Since  the  Southern  cities  are  closed  to  us,  and  North- 
ern ones  are  poorer  than  ever,  we  Thespians  have  a 
hard  row  to  hoe." 

He  was  not  sorry  to  hear  her  say  this,  for  he  felt 
that  his  own  success  would  make  him  the  more  attract- 
ive in  her  eyes.  And  he  wanted  more  than  ever  to  be 
attractive  to  her.  He  had  had  his  fling  in  Paris,  and 
he  had  not  neglected  to  make,  the  acquaintance  of  sev- 
eral susceptible  ladies  since  his  return  home.  But  he 
had  never  met  any  one  who  roused  in  him  such  feelings 
as  did  the  woman  before  him.  One  moment  he  felt 
that  to  be  her  slave  in  order  to  be  always  near  her 
would  be  all  the  paradise  he  would  ask.    The  next,  he 


26  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

yearned  to  be  a  despot,  that  he  might  command  her  to 
do  his  bidding.  And  each  instant  she  attracted  him 
more,  by  every  glance  of  her  eye,  by  every  shrug  of 
her  shoulders,  by  every  movement  of  her  sinuous  body, 
by  even  the  stamp  of  her  pretty  slippered  foot. 

He  talked  to  her  of  many  things,  with  all  the  conver- 
sational art  he  had  acquired  by  contact  with  the  world, 
but  constantly  he  was  thinking  of  how  to  win  her.  She 
told  him  that  she  had  been  married  four  years  earlier, 
but  her  husband,  he  was  glad  to  learn,  was  now  at  the 
front.  He  was  a  captain  among  the  troops  in  the 
West,  and  had  been  wounded  in  battle.  "And  the 
worst  of  it  is,"  she  added,  "that  he  was  not  wounded  by 
an  enemy's  bullet,  but  by  a  rifle  in  the  hands  of  one  of 
his  own  men.  The  gun  prematurely  exploded.  The 
soldier  was  innocent,  as  the  gun  was  proved  to  be  one 
of  a  bad  lot  that  had  been  condemned,  and  had  been 
given  to  the  troops  by  mistake.  Oh,  if  I  could  only  go 
to  him !  I  might  as  well  be  there,  for  all  the  money  I 
am  making.    But  traveling  is  so  expensive." 

"If  you  would  only  let  me  aid  you  in  some  way,"  he 
suggested,  gently.  "You  see,  I  can  easily  do  so, 
and " 

But  she  would  not  allow  him  to  finish.  "My  poor, 
dear  mamma,  if  she  were  living,  would  be  shocked  at 
the  suggestion,"  she  declared,  shaking  her  head  with 
melancholy  resignation,  and  causing  the  curls  on  each 
side  to  play  hide  and  seek  with  her  eyes. 

That  night  he  engaged  a  box  at  the  theatre  and  saw 
her  play  Ophelia  to  a  small  audience.  And  when  he 
called  the  next  day  there  was  an  appealing  sadness  in 
her  eyes,  and  evidences  of  recent  tears.  While  talk- 
ing of  his  foreign  travels,  and  of  the  prosperity  of 
his  uncle's  firm,  he  let  her  know  by  seemingly  careless 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  27 

phrases  how  large  his  own  income  now  was,  and  casu- 
ally referred  to  his  valet  and  his  private  secretary. 
And  then,  as  she  seemed  interested,  he  told  her  of  his 
recent  coup  in  an  army  contract,  without  mentioning 
needless  details,  and  added  that  it  had  "netted  some 
tens  of  thousands." 

"My,  but  you  are  becoming  quite  a  financier !"  she 
said,  admiringly. 

"And  there  is  no  one  to  share  my  success,"  he  re- 
joined, sadly.  "My  mother  is  dead,  and  my  brother 
has  become  a  successful  country  merchant,  partly 
through  my  aid,  and  he  needs  no  further  assistance." 

He  repeated  his  offer  of  a  loan,  and  again  she  de- 
clined, though  less  decisively.  They  went  driving 
that  day,  and  stopped  for  luncheon  at  the  gilded  cafe 
of  the  Astor  House.  He  ordered  the  costliest  French 
wines,  and  their  food  was  prepared  by  a  newly  im- 
ported chef  from  Paris.  When  she  said  "Good-by" 
at  the  door  of  her  apartment  that  evening  he  sought  to 
enter,  but  with  sorrowful  accents  ?he  told  him  she  had 
dismissed  her  maid  for  lack  of  money,  and  declared 
that  he  must  come  no  further.  But  she  let  him  hold 
her  hand  longer  than  usual. 

He  called  the  next  day  with  a  large  bouquet  of 
Mareqhal  Niel  roses,  and  she  met  him  in  the  public  par- 
lor. She  was  so  pleased  with  the  roses  that  he  sent  a 
yet  larger  bouquet  to  the  theatre  that  night.  She 
lunched  with  him  the  following  day,  and  the  next,  and 
the  next.  A  week  later  she  had  accepted  a  loan  large 
enough  to  pay  her  hotel  bill  for  a  month,  and  the  fol- 
lowing day  he  gave  her  a  sufficient  sum  to  re-engage 
her  maid.  He  called  her  "Marie"  the  day  after,  and  the 
day  after  that  he  induced  her  to  call  him  by  his  first 
name. 


28  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

It  was  now  early  in  March.  She  had  told  him  that 
her  maid  was  going  to  a  suburban  town  to  visit  rela- 
tives on  a  Wednesday.  Soon  after  noon  of  that  day 
the  sky  became  overcast,  and  a  fitful  rain  fell,  while 
strong  winds  moaned  through  the  leafless  trees  in 
Union  Square.  There  was  a  savage  gloominess  about 
the  day  that  caused  one  to  desire  to  escape  from 
nature,  and  to  yearn  for  human  sympathy. 

When  she  opened  the  door  to  him  he  noticed  that 
she  had  been  weeping.  She  started  back  as  though  in 
surprise  when  she  saw  who  it  was,  and  caught  her 
negligee  gown  together  at  the  throat. 

Before  she  had  time  to  utter  a  word  he  seized  her  in 
his  arms  and  covered  her  face  with  kisses,  commanding 
her  to  cease  her  sorrowing  about  things  that  could  be 
easily  remedied.  Her  gown  fell  open  again,  and  he 
put  aside  the  hand  that  would  have  closed  it.  She  pro- 
tested, at  first  strongly,  then  feebly,  then  not  at  all. 
And  it  was  after  dark  when  they  emerged  together,  she 
perfectly  attired  for  the  street  and  leaning  contentedly 
upon  his  arm,  while  he  escorted  her  to  a  carriage  with 
tender  but  masterful  solicitude. 


CHAPTER   IV 

A    HONEYMOON    IN    ITALY 


War's  fiery  tide  had  receded,  and  the  nation  was 
slowly  and  painfully  recovering  from  its  scars.  The 
South,  crushed  by  sheer  weight  of  numbers,  had 
finally  abandoned  its  heroic  fight,  and  now  lay  bleeding 
afresh  under  Reconstruction's  iron  heel. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  29 

The  war  had  ruined  legions  in  many  lines.  Com- 
merce and  industry  were  half  paralyzed  in  the  North, 
and  in  "Dixie  Land"  most  of  the  fairest  plantations 
had  been  blighted  as  by  a  plague.  The  happy  laughter 
of  the  care-free  negro  in  fields  of  cotton  and  corn  had 
been  replaced  by  sullen  demands  for  wages  that  could 
seldom  be  paid.  The  lullabies  with  which  black  "mam- 
mies" had  sung  their  white  charges  to  sleep  were  suc- 
ceeded in  many  a  cabin  by  wailings  for  the  death  of 
their  own  offspring,  who  had  been  slain  by  their  exas- 
perated former  masters  in  secret  bands  of  lawless  night 
riders. 

All  classes  in  every  section  felt  and  would  feel  for 
many  years  the  weight  of  a  war  the  most  destructive 
the  new  world  had  ever  known — all  classes,  that  is, 
except  one.  Those  who  dealt  in  money  had  found 
war  a  source  of  even  greater  gain  than  peace.  The 
mounting  of  the  public  debt  from  less  than  sixty-five 
millions  to  more  than  two  and  three-quarter  billions, 
or  about  forty-three  times  what  it  had  been,  dismayed 
many  a  patriotic  heart,  but  it  did  not  dismay  the  money 
changers.  By  the  system  which  they  had  devised,  the 
war  for  liberty  and  union  was  now  netting  them  and 
their  clients  at  least  fifty  millions  a  year,  and  would 
continue  for  many  years  to  profit  them  as  much. 
Special  taxes  upon  trade  and  industry  for  a  generation 
or  more  would  be  needed  to  meet  this  drain  upon  the 
national  treasury.  Not  since  the  beginning  of  public 
debts  in  the  days  of  Queen  Anne,  when  the  English 
began  to  engage  in  so  many  long  and  costly  continental 
wars,  and  Parliament  decided  to  put  the  burden  on 
posterity,  had  a  single  war  fallen  so  heavily  upon  a 
people.  And  never  had  the  money  changers  so  profited 
from  the  disasters  of  a  nation. 


30  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

As  Asa  Gorman  explained  it  to  his  nephew : 

"Congress  was  induced  to  pass  a  law  providing  that 
the  owners  of  such  government  bonds  as  were  depos- 
ited in  the  Treasury  receive  the  total  sum  of  their  face 
value,  less  only  ten  per  cent.,  while  continuing  to  draw 
full  interest  on  them.  Thus  what  amounts  to  a  double 
interest  is  being  paid.  And  bankers  are  gratuitously 
allowed  to  issue  currency  on  the  basis  of  the  deposited 
bonds,  and  charge  interest  on  the  currency.  At  the 
same  time  they  are  relieved  from  paying  taxes  on  the 
bonds.  That  is  one  reason  I  have  started  a  national 
bank,  while  continuing  as  a  private  banker  as  well. 
Our  total  profits  as  a  result  of  this  bond  scheme  some- 
times go  as  high  as  fifty  per  cent,  in  a  year,  or  even 
higher,  when  money  becomes  unusually  stringent. 
Who  would  not  be  a  banker  in  this  age  and  country, 
Clay?" 

When  the  elder  Gorman  had  returned  from  England 
at  the  war's  close,  he  was  already  one  of  the  richest 
men  of  his  time.  But  this  was  not  enough  for  him. 
He  wanted  to  be  the  very  richest.  He  joined  the 
clique  of  financiers  who,  in  many  devious  ways,  were 
undermining  the  people's  rule  in  State  and  national 
legislatures,  to  obtain  laws  that  would  still  further  add 
to  his  wealth  and  power.  Some  of  the  most  eminent 
politicians,  who  to  the  masses  were  known  as  states- 
men, were  his  aids.  In  return  for  their  help,  they 
were  given  blocks  of  stock  in  various  enterprises,  or 
sold  government  bonds  on  the  most  favorable  terms. 
Young  Gorman  used  to  wonder  what  the  masses  would 
do  if  they  could  understand  what  was  taking  place. 
That  the  immense  majority  could  not  understand, 
only  increased  his  contempt  for  them. 

Meanwhile,  a  new  aristocracy  of  wealth  was  rapidly 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  31 

rising  in  the  North,  and  this  aristocracy  was  fully  rep- 
resented at  the  wedding  of  Clay  Jefferson  Gorman  on 
a  May  evening  in  the  year  1868.  The  scene  was  a 
home  in  what  was  then  upper,  but  is  now  lower  Broad- 
way. There  were  sounds  of  music,  revelry  and  song 
from  within,  and  of  laughter  and  gay  chatter  from 
under  the  trees  on  the  broad  lawn  that  was  a-light  with 
Japanese  lanterns.  The  tall  wooden  palings  that  in- 
closed the  lawn  kept  out  the  curious  public,  but  did  not 
prevent  a  view  of  the  pretty  outdoor  scene. 

But  here  and  there  about  the  lawn  fair  heads  were 
bent  together,  and  "Ohs"  and  "Ahs"  and  suppressed 
gigglings  were  heard,  and  the  fair  heads  were  quickly 
drawn  apart  when  anyone  of  masculine  gender  ap- 
proached. These  heads  belonged  to  the  friends  and 
acquaintances  of  Millicent  Lawton,  the  bride.  They 
were  discussing  the  details  of  the  approaching  cere- 
mony, no  doubt.  And  perhaps,  too,  they  were  saying 
that  although  the  bride  was  to  be  envied  in  some 
respects,  in  others  she  was  not,  since  she  must  share 
his  affections  with  another.  For  it  had  become  known 
in  some  circles  that  the  groom  was  fond  of  a  certain 
actress,  and  that  he  continued  to  spend  much  of  his 
time  with  her  even  while  paying  attentions  to  Miss 
Lawton,  the  daughter  of  Obadiah  Lawton,  whose 
banking  house,  the  chief  rival  of  the  Gorman  firm, 
would  be  allied  to  the  Gorman  interests  by  the  mar- 
riage. But  whatever  anyone,  including  the  bride's 
parents  or  the  bride  herself,  may  have  heard  of  this 
subject,  preparations  for  the  union  had  not  halted. 

And  now,  in  a  few  moments,  to  the  strains  of  a  wed- 
ding march  played  by  an  orchestra  concealed  behind 
palms,  the  bride  and  groom  marched  down  the  broad 
stairway,  and  under  the  Morris  hangings  of  the  draw- 


32  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

ing  room  door  into  the  presence  of  a  "distinguished 
and  brilliant  company,"  as  the  newspapers  of  the  next 
morning  had  it.  Here  they  said  their  vows,  received 
their  congratulations,  and  smiled  their  happy  appre- 
ciation of  it  all,  and  then  joined  the  company  at  a 
banquet. 

And  some  of  the  company  were  really  distinguished, 
too.  It  is  true  that  there  were  no  war  heroes, 
no  statesmen,  no  artists,  no  philosophers.  But  fully 
a  dozen  among  the  guests  could  prove  that  they  had 
attended  the  ball  given  to  the  Prince  of  Wales  when 
he  had  visited  the  city  some  eight  years  before.  And 
one  of  the  ladies  present  had  danced  with  the  Prince 
himself,  who  had  autographed  her  programme. 
Another  had  been  allowed  to  stand  by  his  side  while  he 
reviewed  from  a  balcony  of  the  Clarendon  Hotel  a 
procession  given  in  his  honor.  There  were,  besides, 
several  other  guests  who  were  on  the  visiting  list  of 
the  first  American  woman  to  bear  an  old  world  title. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  banquet  a  toast  was  drunk 
to  the  young  couple,  and  then,  amid  a  shower  of  rice, 
they  stepped  into  a  carriage  and  were  driven  to  a  pier 
to  board  a  steamer  that  sailed  at  dawn  for  Europe. 

Their  honeymoon  travels  included  London,  Paris 
and  Vienna,  and  thence  they  went  to  Italy.  They 
were  to  remain  in  Rome  for  a  full  month.  Millicent 
had  never  been  abroad  before,  and  she  enjoyed  every 
hour  of  their  journeyings.  She  was  particularly 
enraptured  with  the  Eternal  City.  The  many  cathe- 
drals, the  art  treasures  of  the  Vatican,  the  melancholy 
and  hoary  mystery-  that  brooded  over  the  ruins,  the 
thought  of  the  great  tragedies,  the  glorious  deeds 
enacted  in  ages  past  upon  the  very  ground  she  now 
walked  on — all  this  appealed  to  her  strongly. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  33 

She  had  been  well  educated,  and  she  possessed  a 
genuine  love  for  classic  art.  Next  after  her  social 
position,  due  to  her  father's  fortune,  she  had  attracted 
her  husband  by  her  ability  to  talk  understandingly  and 
well  upon  many  subjects.  As  to  her  physical  qualities, 
she  had  a  good  form  and  a  handsome  face,  illumined 
with  fine  dark  eyes. 

She  had  admired  Clay  for  his  knowledge  of  the 
world,  and  for  his  ability  in  winning  her  father's 
approval  over  three  other  suitors.  Long  before  their 
first  meeting  she  had  heard  of  him  as  a  young  finan- 
cier who  was  so  successful  that  ere  he  was  twenty-five 
he  was  able  to  contribute  a  thousand  dollars  toward 
the  building  of  St.  Mark's  Church.  She  did  not  know 
just  how  his  success  had  come,  but  she  felt  that  he  must 
be  an  exceptional  young  man.  And  his  wooing  had 
been  so  impetuous.  From  the  first  he  had  simply  taken 
entire  possession  of  her  time  and  of  her  mind.  She 
liked  to  be  won  that  way,  and  she  had  soon  yielded. 

He  did  not  enthuse  with  her  over  the  ruins  of  Rome. 
But  he  did  admire  much  of  the  statuary,  though  his 
thoughts  about  it  were  vastly  different  from  hers.  In 
the  museum  of  the  Vatican,  for  instance,  he  wondered 
why  the  holiest  of  men  should  live  among  so  many  nude 
figures,  even  if  these  were  only  of  marble — figures 
which  depicted  the  loves  and  liaisons  of  the  sensual 
deities  of  paganism.  And  he  speculated  upon  the 
morals  of  the  ruling  pontiff. 

Millicent  had  first  suggested  that  their  wedding  trip 
be  taken  in  the  United  States,  and  that  Gettysburg 
and  other  famous  battlefields  be  included.  As  a  patri- 
otic young  man  who  had  laid  the  foundations  of  his 
fortune  in  that  war,  he  should  have  been  interested 
enough  to  visit  at  least  a  few  of  its  scenes.     Perhaps 


34  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

he  should  have  stood  upon  the  field  of  Gettysburg  and 
resolved,  with  Lincoln,  "that  these  dead  shall  not  have 
died  in  vain."  But  he  preferred  to  spend  his  Ameri- 
can-made dollars  in  more  interesting  and  artistic  and 
aristocratic  surroundings. 

He  thought  Lincoln  had  done  very  well  as  Presi- 
dent, but  when  assassination  had  ended  his  career,  he 
had  considered  its  effect  upon  the  stock  market  more 
than  in  any  other  way.  And  as  he  stood  now  amid 
the  ruins  of  the  Capitol  where  Caesar  had  fallen,  he 
recalled  a  biographer's  eulogistic  phrase  about  Lin- 
coln :  "His  life  was  an  epic,  and  his  death,  like  that 
of  Caesar,  beggars  the  art  of  Melpomene."  Well,  what 
of  it  ?  He  was  dead  now,  was  Lincoln,  cut  down  in  his 
prime,  just  when  he  might  have  begun  to  enjoy  the 
fruits  of  his  labors.  And  if  he  had  lived  he  would 
probably  have  been  maligned  and  vilified  in  his  declin- 
ing years,  when  stripped  of  power  and  helpless  against 
his  traducers.  Political  glory  was  so  precarious  and, 
in  a  republic,  so  poorly  paid  a  thing! 

He  admired  the  strong  and  masterful  leaders  who 
had  defeated  republicanism  in  France  and  Italy.  That 
was  the  way  to  do  things — as  Louis  Napoleon  had 
done,  making  himself  Emperor  of  the  French  upon  the 
ruins  of  a  republic,  or  as  Victor  Emmanuel  had  just 
done  in  Italy,  building  a  throne  out  of  the  bones  of 
republican  leaders.  And  Mazzini,  who  had  striven  for 
a  lifetime  to  unite  Italy  in  one  great  commonwealth, 
and  had  retired  to  die  of  disappointment — well,  he  was 
a  fool,  or  else  an  adventurer  who  had  been  euchered 
out  of  the  spoils  by  those  cleverer  than  himself. 

Clay  meditated  so  much  during  their  stay  in  Rome 
that  Millicent  began  to  fear  he  was  becoming  melan- 
choly.    Their  hotel  rooms  overlooked  the  Corso,  the 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  35 

main  boulevard,  and  he  used  to  sit  by  the  hour  gazing 
at  the  passing  show.  She  found  him  thus  one  sunny 
afternoon  when  she  came  into  his  room.  He  was  in 
the  same  position  in  which  she  had  left  him  when, 
more  than  an  hour  before,  she  had  gone  to  view  one  of 
the  ancient  churches. 

"See  where  the  fleas  have  bitten  me,"  she  said,  open- 
ing her  dress  at  the  neck.  (Fleas  in  Italy  know  no 
race,  caste  or  sex,  and  seem  especially  to  prefer  tour- 
ists.)    He  saw  two  red  welts  disfiguring  her  fair  skin. 

In  the  earlier,  tenderer  days  of  their  travels  he  would 
have  spoken  soft  and  soothing  words,  and  petted  the 
place  of  affliction  or  pressed  his  lips  there.  But  now 
he  merely  glanced  at  it,  remarked,  "They  did  bite  you 
hard,"  and  resumed  gazing  out  at  the  gay  throng.  She 
turned  away  with  an  indrawing  of  her  lips,  and  an 
expression  of  pain  in  her  eyes. 

The  mellow  afternoon  sun  shone  upon  a  colorful 
scene  in  the  Corso,  which  temporarily  eclipsed  the 
misery  and  squalor  and  degradation  of  the  masses : 
Cardinals,  resplendent  in  their  red  robes,  lolling  luxu- 
riously in  carriages  ;  army  officers  in  the  uniform  of  the 
newly  established  kingdom,  many  of  them  gold  braided 
and  riding  high-stepping  steeds ;  nobles  of  both  the 
old  and  the  new  order,  the  former  proud  and  haughty 
of  bearing  in  proportion  to  their  shabbiness ;  ambassa- 
dors adorned  with  gold  lace  and  other  decorations  of 
honor;  beautiful  women  in  exquisite  gowns,  bedizened 
with  jewels,  and  bright-eyed  with  interest,  or  from  the 
use  of  belladonna;  and  many  merely  rich  tourists, 
mostly  from  America,  trailing  along  in  hired  convey- 
ances, endeavoring  to  shine  in  the  reflected  glory  of 
it  all. 

Millicent  began  to  plan  ways  to  get  him  to  start  back 


36  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

to  America.  She  would  have  liked  to  stay  much 
longer,  but  no  woman  can  endure  neglect  on  her 
honeymoon  trip.  She  could  not  know  that  after  the 
first  delights  of  their  new  life,  due  mainly  to  novelty, 
he  had  begun  to  yearn  for  one  who  had  never  palled 
on  him.  She  could  not  know  that  all  the  beautiful 
forms  of  goddesses  and  nymphs  in  marble,  of  bright- 
eyed,  voluptuous  Italian  maids  and  matrons  in  the 
flesh,  had  reminded  him  of  another  than  herself. 

An  urgent  letter  from  Asa  Gorman  the  next  morning 
changed  his  brooding  into  animated  interest  in  time 
tables  and  sailing  lists.  The  house  of  Gorman,  Peyton 
&  Company  required  his  presence  on  the  eve  of  an 
election  that  might  mean  much  to  them  and  their  allies. 
"You  know  some  of  the  big  politicians  as  well  as  I 
do  now,"  wrote  his  uncle,  "and  there  are  many  of 
them  to  be  looked  after  these  days.  We  must  not 
waste  our  ammunition  by  giving  campaign  funds  to 
the  wrong  parties." 

The  bridal  couple  left  at  once  for  Naples,  and  two 
days  later  sailed  for  New  York.  Millicent  became 
happy  again,  merely  to  see  him  brighten  into  a  gayety 
approaching  that  of  their  pre-nuptial  days.  She  did 
not  suspect  that  the  Other  One  across  the  sea,  who 
had  been  recently  widowed,  and  to  whom  distance  lent 
an  added  enchantment,  was  waiting  for  his  return. 


CHAPTER  V 

HIS    FIRST   RAILROAD 

"These  railroads,"  said  Asa  Gorman,  after  a  day 
filled  with  conferences,  "are  going  to  have  a  wonderful 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  Z7 

lot  to  do  with  running  this  country.  If  I  were  a 
younger  man  I  would  be  interested  in  railroads  beyond 
the  marketing  of  their  stocks  and  bonds." 

He  did  not  say  this  directly  to  Clay.  He  uttered  it 
musingly,  as  he  sat  puffing  a  fragrant  cigar  and 
gazing  idly  out  of  his  plate  glass  window  at  the  hurry- 
ing throngs  in  Nassau  street.  It  was  a  year  after  his 
nephew's  return  from  abroad. 

There  were  many  more  lines  in  the  elder  man's  face, 
and  the  sacks  of  flaccid  skin  under  his  eyes  had  grown 
much  larger  in  the  past  few  years.  His  hair  was  thin- 
ning rapidly,  and  on  top  of  his  head  he  was  almost 
bald.  His  hand  shook  at  times,  too,  as  though  with  the 
palsy.  Old  age  was  claiming  him  for  its  own,  though 
his  years  were  not  yet  three  score.  "Perhaps  I've 
stayed  too  close  to  the  grind,"  he  said.  "Wine,  woman 
and  song  should  not  be  mixed  with  business,  but  a  little 
gayety  now  and  then  helps  to  keep  one  young.  And 
it's  been  all  work  and  no  play  with  me.  No,  I've  had 
too  much  work  in  life  already,  and  I  will  keep  out  of 
railroads." 

Clay  had  now  progressed  to  the  point  where  he 
relieved  his  uncle  of  most  of  the  work  of  the  office. 
He  not  only  attended  to  clients,  but  directed  the  firm's 
activities  among  both  State  and  national  politicians, 
and  told  the  lawyers  what  was  expected  of  them  in 
many  important  cases.  A  few  years  more  and,  he 
promised  himself,  he  would  be  the  actual  head  of  the 
firm  instead  of  a  minor  partner.  It  was  "Asa  Gorman 
&  Company"  now,  and  he  was  the  company.  Peyton 
had  retired  to  build  himself  a  palatial  home,  and,  by 
spending  a  tenth  of  his  fortune  in  public  benefits,  had 
become  known  as  a  philanthropist. 


38  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

In  expressing  a  wish  to  get  "interested  in  railroads," 
his  uncle  had  spoken  Clay's  own  thoughts.  He  had 
begun  to  long  for  a  more  active  life.  He  was  not 
of  a  disposition  to  sit  quietly  by  and  enjoy  merely  the 
sight  of  money  flowing  in  a  goodly  stream  into  his 
coffers.  Nor  did  slothful  ease,  nor  even  dalliance  in 
the  boudoir  of  the  most  charming  actress  of  the  day, 
attract  him  for  long.  The  force  that  was  stored  up 
in  his  being  demanded  other  outlets.  He  craved  action 
— action,  preferably,  that  would  vastly  increase  his 
wealth,  but  action  for  its  own  sake  rather  than  not  at 
all.  The  walls  of  the  banking  house  were  too  much 
like  a  cage  to  him — a  pleasant  cage,  even  a  gilded 
cage,  but  a  cage,  nevertheless,  and  fit  to  be  only  a  rest- 
ing place,  not  a  permanent  abode  for  his  eagle-like 
spirit. 

He  liked  that  idea :  the  idea  that  he  was  an  eagle. 
Napoleon  was  an  eagle — the  eagle  of  Austerlitz,  whose 
wings  were  broken  at  Waterloo.  Yes,  he,  too,  was 
an  eagle,  and  he  would  be  a  Napoleonic  eagle  in  the 
world  of  finance.  He  looked  about  in  preparation  for 
his  first  long  flight. 

Railway  building  was  then  attracting  some  of  the 
best  business  talent  of  the  day.  Men  of  nerve  and 
daring  were  making  enormous  fortunes  out  of  those 
bands  of  steel  which  were  binding  the  States  together 
in  a  stronger  union  than  ever  political  ties  had  bound 
them.  And  the  power  these  men  acquired  was  propor- 
tionately stronger  than  the  power  of  civil  magistrates. 
In  fact,  the  latter  were  often  but  the  tools  of  those 
more  dominant  personalities  whose  rule  did  not  depend 
upon  popular  approval.  Already  there  were  more  than 
thirty  thousand  miles  of  railway  in  the  republic,  or 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  39 

about  as  man)-  as  the  two  greatest  European  countries 
together  had.  "And  the  railway  power  is  in  its 
infancy,"  his  uncle  had  often  said. 

Clay's  knowledge  of  law  made  him  the  more  anxious 
to  try  his  wings.  He  knew  how  much  richer  than  in 
any  other  land  were  the  prizes  to  be  won  in  railway 
exploitation  here.  And  what  he  did  not  know  his 
uncle  told  him. 

"In  Great  Britain  and  on  the  Continent,"  Asa  Gor- 
man said,  "borrowing  powers  are  granted  to  builders 
in  very  limited  degree,  and  generally  for  only  one- 
fourth  of  the  capital,  and  the  debenture  or  other  obli- 
gations respecting  the  authorized  debt  are  esteemed  as 
a  security  of  the  highest  character  for  investment,  and 
are  usually  guaranteed  by  the  government.  But  here, 
borrowing  powers  are  exercised  for  the  most  part 
under  general  laws,  and  without  limitation,  so  that 
often  all  the  actual  capital  for  building  a  railway  is 
raised  by  forms  of  debt,  while  the  share  capital  is 
issued  solely  for  the  contractors'  benefit,  and  affords 
no  guarantee  or  margin  for  protection  of  indebted- 
ness. 

"This  means,  in  plainer  language,"  he  went  on, 
"that  any  group  of  men  that  possess  or  can  borrow  a 
small  margin  of  capital  are  allowed  to  build  a  railway 
wherever  they  see  fit,  subject  only  to  judicial  regula- 
tion. And  'judicial  regulation'  is  something  that  any 
one  as  familiar  as  we  are  with  the  workings  of  prac- 
tical politics  should  not  be  afraid  of.  Judges  are  all 
human,  you  know." 

"A  good  many  of  them  own  stocks  and  bonds  in  the 
roads  whose  cases  they  decide,  and  yet  the  people 
never  seem  to  think  of  that,"  remarked  Clay.     "You 


40  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

remember  old  Judge  Allenby,  whom  Gluten  and  Bliss 
let  in  on  the  Bedling  road's  stock?" 

"Surely,  I  remember  that  matter,  and  many  others. 
The  explanation  seems  to  me  just  this :  All  judges 
have  been  lawyers,  and  lawyers,  as  a  class,  are  men 
originally  without  property,  and  their  chief  business  in 
life  is  to  protect  property.  It  is  more  than  a  mere 
saying  that  'Possession  is  nine-tenths  of  the  law.'  You 
find  that  in  Blackstone,  don't  you?  Well,  the  gentle- 
men of  the  law,  whose  mission  in  life  is  mainly  to  aid 
people  who  have  possessed  themselves  of  property 
to  keep  possession  of  it,  are  not  going  to  waste  much 
of  their  talent  in — what  was  that  philosophical  word 
you  brought  back  from  Heidelberg?  'Casuistry' — 
that's  it.  They  can't  let  conscience  figure  very  largely 
in  it.  As  I  was  about  to  say,  as  long  as  these  guar- 
dians of  property  get  a  good  share  of  what  they  guard, 
they  will  not  look  behind  the  scenes  too  closely  to 
learn  the  methods  whereby  it  was  acquired." 

"Napoleon  once  said,"  Clay  rejoined,  "that  'Provi- 
dence is  on  the  side  of  the  heaviest  battalions.'  Per- 
haps we  should  revise  that  dictum  for  modern  use  by 
saying  that  in  contests  before  courts,  'Providence  is  on 
the  side  of  the  largest  pocketbook.'  " 

"Excellent!  Excellent!"  and  Asa  Gorman  cracked 
the  parchment-like  skin  of  his  face  into  smile.  "In 
other  words,  property  is  the  god  of  law.  And  yet,  how 
the  people  do  look  up  to  law  and  lawyers !  It  is  won- 
derful how  many  of  them  study  the  law,  too.  Maybe 
it  is  because  it's  so  great  an  aid  in  politics  and  business. 
Long  ago,  I  heard  that  more  copies  of  Blackstone 
had  been  sold  in  America  than  in  England.  Lawyers 
are    usually    in    the    majority    in    Congress,    often 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  41 

immensely  in  the  majority  there,  as  well  as  in  most  of 
the  State  legislatures.  But  we  should  never  interfere 
with  this  general  regard  for  lawyers.  It  has  helped 
me  in  many  a  big  deal." 

"But  about  the  railroads,"  Clay  resumed,  fearing 
that  the  old  man  would  continue  indefinitely  in  vain- 
glorious reminiscences  if  he  should  get  started  in  that 
line.  "Towns  are  springing  up  fast  in  many  of  the 
new  States,  and  are  simply  crying  for  railroads. 
Legions  are  pouring  in  from  Europe  every  day  to  help 
swell  our  population.  The  country  is  now  gaining  a 
million  a  year." 

"Yes,"  said  the  uncle,  "and  the  people  are  so  eager 
for  railroads  that  they  don't  stop  to  haggle  over  the 
terms  of  the  builders.  Speculators  are  given  rights 
that  could  be  sold  at  immense  premiums.  Instead  of 
selling  franchises,  county  and  town  boards  freely  grant 
perpetual  rights  of  way.  This  is  not  all.  They  donate 
bonds  toward  the  building,  besides  the  State  and  federal 
bonds  that  are  loaned  by  millions  of  dollars'  worth  to 
builders.  We  have  handled  many  of  these,  and  they 
make  my  hands  itch  to  go  out  and  get  hold  of  the 
roads  themselves.  In  this  State  alone,  forty  millions 
have  been  taken  from  the  treasury  to  help  railroad 
promoters,  who  at  the  same  time  are  given  power  to 
dictate  to  the  people  what  they  shall  pay  for  using 
the  roads  thus  built.  Oh,  if  I  were  not  so  old,  I  would 
get  in  the  game." 

"And  the  bribery  scandals  never  seem  to  amount  to 
much,"  added  Clay. 

"Pooh  !  Of  course  not.  The  public  memory  is  short, 
and  there  are  too  many  people  high  up  in  the  transac- 
tions to  let  any  very  large  cat  out  of  the  bag.     Take 


42  THE  AMERICAN   EMPEROR 

that  Credit  Mobilier  affair,  for  instance — the  American 
Credit  Mobilier,  I  mean,  not  the  French." 

"Yea,  tell  me  about  that,"  said  Clay,  who  found  this 
the  most  interesting  conversation  he  had  ever  had 
with  his  well-informed  relative.  "I  was  on  my  honey- 
moon trip  when  things  happened,  and  I  didn't  get  a 
clear  idea  of  it." 

"Well,  our  house  pulled  down  a  big  share  of  the 
proceeds  in  that,  so  I  ought  to  know  something  about 
it.  The  Union  Pacific,  as  you  know,  was  the  first 
road  across  the  Western  plains  and  mountains,  and  the 
only  one,  as  yet.  A  group  of  daring  spirits  put  the 
thing  through — the  political  end  of  it,  I  mean,  and  I 
helped  along  in  a  financial  way.  My  share  was  forty 
thousand  of  the  fund  put  up  to  be  used  in  Congress. 
The  law  that  was  finally  passed  gave  the  promoters 
every  alternate  section  of  land  on  both  sides  of  the 
track,  besides  the  right  of  way  itself,  along  the  whole 
length  of  the  road  through  half  a  dozen  States.  Two 
hundred  million  acres,  or  more  than  three  hundred 
thousand  square  miles,  have  been  granted  in  this  way — 
principally  to  the  U.  P.  crowd — and  the  promoters 
were  the  principal  gainers." 

Clay  did  a  little  figuring  on  a  sheet  of  paper  before 
him. 

"That's  more  land  than  there  is  in  all  of  France," 
he  said,  looking  up  from  the  figures.  "It's  a  greater 
area  than  the  original  thirteen  States  together." 

"Besides  all  this,"  his  uncle  went  on,  "sixty  millions 
in  federal  bonds  have  been  loaned  the  builders,  and 
these  very  lands  that  were  donated  were  given  as 
security.  By  God,  that  was  a  deal  for  you!"  and  the 
old  man  smacked  his  lips.     "Of  course,  there  was  a 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  43 

little  scandal  in  Congress  when  the  details  came  out, 
and  a  few  members  who  were  proved  to  have  accepted 
gifts  of  stock  had  to  resign,  but  nothing  more  serious 
happened.  As  I  said,  my  share  of  the  expenses  was 
forty  thousand,  and  my  profit  from  placing  the  bonds 
was  half  a  million." 

"There  is  no  precedent  in  history  for  such  a  land 
grant,  is  there?"  asked  his  nephew,  whose  study  of 
the  law  had  given  him  a  liking  for  precedents. 

"Precedents?"  repeated  the  uncle.  "There  don't 
need  to  be  precedents  for  things  done  in  this  country 
of  glorious  opportunities.  Ah,  if  I  but  had  my  life  to 
live  over  again ! 

"But  say,"  he  said,  suddenly,  arousing  himself  from 
his  half  pleasant,  half  melancholy  meditations,  "if  you 
want  to  see  what  you  can  do  in  railroads  right  now, 
I've  got  an  idea.  The  stock  of  the  New  York  and 
Tallahanna  road  is  going  a-begging  because  of  a  war 
between  two  sets  of  directors.  The  line  runs  from  the 
Hudson  to  the  heart  of  the  rich  coal  lands  of  Penn- 
sylvania. Though  it's  short,  its  possibilities  are 
immense.  Other  bankers  look  askance  at  its  securities, 
but  we  have  got  hold  of  a  large  block,  and  I  think 
we  should  have  more." 

A  few  days  later  there  was  a  new  figure  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  stockholders  of  the  New  York  and  Tella- 
hanna  road.  The  company's  headquarters  were  in 
a  side  street,  near  the  Gorman  offices.  It  seemed  that 
Fate  itself  had  bidden  young  Gorman  to  take  a  hand, 
for  he  had  only  to  walk  a  few  hundred  steps  to  be  in 
the  midst  of  a  shouting,  gesticulating  crowd  of  mer- 
chants, farmers  and  speculators  who  wanted  some  one 


44  THE    AMERICAN    EMPEROR 

to  lead  them  out  of  the  chaos  in  which  they  found 
themselves. 

He  sat  quiet  for  the  first  half  hour,  listening  to  all 
that  was  said.  Then  he  moved  about,  making  new 
acquaintances  and  renewing  old  ones.  The  profes- 
sional stock  traders  or  speculators  he  already  knew. 
These  were  taking  the  most  prominent  part  on  both 
sides  in  the  fight  for  control,  though  none  of  them 
had  ever  given  as  much  as  a  dollar  of  his  own  money 
toward  the  building  of  the  road.  One  of  them,  a 
former  politician,  had  been  elected  president  of  the 
road  by  his  faction,  and  his  side  Gorman  championed. 
It  was  through  his  uncle  that  this  man  had  acquired 
his  stock  cheaply. 

The  opposition  was  led  by  two  formidable  specu- 
lators, Gluten  and  Bliss.  Gorman  knew  their  strength, 
but  they  did  not  know  his.  They  looked  upon  him  as 
a  mere  upstart,  a  creature  of  his  uncle.  Both  were 
older  than  he  in  years,  and  they  were,  moreover,  vet- 
erans of  many  a  hard-fought  financial  campaign. 
Gluten  was  a  clever  Jew,  whose  prestidigitations  in 
stocks  and  bonds,  sometimes  bringing  him  millions 
at  a  single  move,  had  given  him  the  name  of  wizard, 
and  Bliss  was  a  scarcely  less  able  lieutenant.  In  local 
politics  they  had  an  advantage  unsuspected  by  most 
of  their  enemies.  They  always  furnished  the  funds  that 
elected  at  least  two  of  the  judges  before  whom  such 
cases  as  they  figured  in  were  to  be  tried,  and  Gluten 
had  more  than  once  bought  a  new  court  over  night 
when  his  defeat  seemed  certain.  And  when  Gorman 
and  his  fellow  stockholders  went  to  the  meeting  on 
the  second  morning  it  was  to  learn  that  the  Jew  had 
made  another  judicial  alliance,  for  an  injunction 
barred  them  all  from  the  office. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  45 

"Come  to  the  office  of  Gorman  &  Company,"  said 
Clay,  speaking  to  the  crowd  assembled  on  the  side- 
walk. "Not  only  will  my  firm  back  your  cause  to 
the  limit  of  its  resources,  but  we  may  be  able  to  get 
foreign  financial  aid  if  necessary.  Meanwhile,  our 
offices  are  at  your  service." 

It  seemed  only  natural,  after  this,  that  the  young 
financier  should  head  the  list  of  directors  nominated 
by  the  ousted  faction.  A  group  of  farmers  were 
among  the  most  enthusiastic  admirers  of  the  new 
leader.  Some  of  them  were  influenced  by  the  words 
of  one  of  their  number,  when  he  said,  "I  like  this 
straightfor'ard  young  man.  Them  other  fellers  is  just 
money  pirates  without  religion.  But  I  know  a  man 
that  b'longs  to  the  same  church  he  does,  and  he  says 
young  Mr.  Gorman  'tends  regular.  That  means  more'n 
a  little  to  me." 

A  desperate  move  was  now  planned  by  Gorman  and 
his  speculative  ally,  whom  the  other  faction  would  not 
recognize  as  the  president.  They  sent  out  emissaries  to 
win  over  all  the  engineers,  firemen  and  brakemen. 
They  had  got  control  of  some  of  the  engines  and  cars, 
and  were  preparing  to  operate  the  line  without  wait- 
ing for  a  decision  of  court,  when  Gluten  and  Bliss 
appealed  to  the  Governor  to  order  out  the  troops.  The 
next  day  the  bayonets  of  five  hundred  soldiers  glistened 
in  the  railway  yards. 

"Well,  my  boy,  it  looks  like  they'd  got  you  for  the 
present,"  said  Asa  Gorman,  who  had  been  watching 
the  contest  with  keen  interest.  "But  since  you're  in 
the  fight,  you  ought  to  stay  in  it.  What's  your  next 
move?" 

"It  seems  to  be  a  matter  of  influence,"  replied  Clay. 


46  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

"Is  there  any  court  in  this  town  that  Gluten  hasn't 
got  his  grip  on?" 

"Hardly  a  one,"  replied  his  uncle.  "But  there  are 
courts  elsewhere,  you  know.  The  first  move,  how- 
ever, may  have  to  be  made  at  the  State  capital.  Get 
a  vote  of  confidence  from  your  stockholders,  so  that 
you  can  proceed  in  your  own  way,  and  then  I'll  give 
you  some  suggestions." 

There  seemed  to  be  nothing  for  the  Gorman  party 
to  do  but  give  him  a  vote  of  confidence,  and  the  next 
day,  after  receiving  that,  he  consulted  with  his  uncle 
again.  Asa  Gorman  had  aided  the  man  who  was  now 
in  the  Governor's  chair,  when  that  politician  held  the 
more  lowly  but  in  some  respects  more  important  office 
of  Speaker  of  the  House  in  tke  Legislature.  He  had 
aided  him  to  good  investments  in  return  for  the  Speak- 
er's service  in  preventing  the  passage  of  a  law  to  reg- 
ulate the  Stock  Exchange,  which  the  Gorman  firm  and 
its  allies  did  not  want  to  be  regulated  by  either  the 
State  or  the  national  government.  These  and  other 
things  were  gone  over  in  a  long  consultation.  The 
Governor's  ambition  to  go  to  the  United  States  Senate 
was  mentioned  more  than  once. 

Young  Gorman  and  a  committee  of  his  followers 
went  to  their  opponents  the  next  morning  with  a  plan 
for  a  compromise.  They  would  make  a  fair  and 
open  proposition ;  yes,  very  fair  and  open :  since  there 
could  be  no  agreement  as  to  who  had  been  elected,  both 
sides  would  join  in  writing  to  the  Governor,  asking 
him  to  appoint  some  State  official  to  manage  the  road 
until  a  board  of  directors  satisfactory  to  all  could  be 
elected.  After  four  hours  of  discussion  this  offer  was 
accepted,  and  a  joint  letter  was  sent  to  the  capital. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  47 

That  evening  Clay  Gorman  and  an  influential  politician 
started  on  a  secret  trip  in  the  same  direction. 

A  few  days  later  the  troops  had  been  withdrawn 
from  the  railway  yards,  and  the  road  was  again  peace- 
fully carrying  coal  to  supply  the  public  needs.  Another 
attempt  was  made  to  elect  directors,  but,  as  before, 
two  rival  sets  were  chosen,  and  there  were  more 
charges  of  fraud.  This  time  the  president  of  the  road 
was  accused  of  illegally  issuing  some  thousands  of 
shares  of  stock  to  help  elect  the  Gorman  ticket.  While 
this  point  was  being  argued  in  court  before  a  Gluten 
judge,  the  Gorman  party  was  making  its  master  move. 
That  secret  midnight  visit  to  the  Governor's  office 
had  not  been  in  vain. 

The  Attorney  General  of  the  State  had,  by  the  Gov- 
ernor's order,  brought  a  suit  against  both  sets  of  direct- 
ors, filing  the  papers  before  a  judge  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  State.  This  judge  was  a  friend  of  neither 
faction,  but  this  fact  did  not  prevent  his  being  a  friend 
of  the  Governor.  The  petition  to  him  set  forth  that 
none  of  the  elections  had  been  legal,  spurious  votes 
having  been  counted  for  both  sides,  and  that  the  whole 
contention  should  be  reviewed  by  an  unprejudiced 
court. 

Gluten  and  Bliss  were  stunned  by  the  suddenness  of 
this  move.  In  the  courts  presided  over  by  their  pur- 
chased judges,  when  they  could  not  frighten  their 
enemies  into  retreat,  they  could  lay  pitfalls  and  ambus- 
cades, and  lure  them  to  their  doom.  But  in  the  rural 
districts  they  were  neither  known  nor  feared.  When 
the  case  was  reviewed,  the  country  judge  decided  for 
Gorman,  and  the  New  York  and  Tellahanna  railroad 
passed  into  his  control. 


48  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

CHAPTER  VI 

WIFE   AND    MISTRESS 

The  conqueror  returned,  feeling  much  as  he  fancied 
Napoleon  must  have  felt  after  his  first  notable  victory 
in  Italy.  And  he  could  imagine  the  defeated  Gluten 
complaining,  in  language  similar  to  that  of  the  veteran 
Austrian  general  at  Montenotte :  "He  violated  all  the 
rules  of  war.  He  attacked  before  daylight,  and  struck 
from  the  flank,  the  front  and  the  rear  all  at  once  and 
without  warning,  and  acted  in  all  things  without  order 
or  precedent." 

But  while  the  losses  in  the  engagement  at  Monte- 
notte were  some  thousands  of  lives,  there  had  been 
comparatively  few  casualties  in  the  struggle  between 
Gorman  and  his  foes.  There  were  two  train  wrecks, 
due  to  incompetent  workers  hired  to  replace  those  who 
had  been  induced  by  bribes  to  desert  their  posts. 
Eleven  persons  were  killed  in  the  first  wreck,  twenty- 
two  in  the  second.  The  State  troopers  had  shot  sev- 
eral workmen  while  guarding  the  railway  yards.  Of 
course,  shippers  of  merchandise  had  suffered  losses 
amounting  to  thousands  of  dollars  in  perishable  goods, 
and  an  epidemic  of  cholera  in  a  mining  town  had  car- 
ried off  scores  of  children  because  physicians  from 
the  city  could  not  get  there  in  time.  But  the  suffer- 
ings of  non-combatants  were  seldom  counted  in  esti- 
mating the  losses  of  war. 

"Only  the  brave  deserve  the  fair,"  was  a  refrain 
that  ran  through  the  victor's  mind  as  he  rode  in  his 
splendid  private  carriage  to  his  new  home  in  upper 
Broadway.     He  had  once  read  a  poem  with  such  a 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  49 

refrain.  It  was  about  Alexander  the  Great,  if  he  re- 
membered rightly,  but  he  never  had  a  good  memory 
for  poetry.  He  approved  the  sentiment,  however,  and 
he  thought  that  it  should  apply  to  himself.  Why 
should  there  not  be  choruses  of  young  girls  to  strew 
roses  in  his  path,  and  put  chaplets  on  his  brow,  while 
a  beautiful  princess — perhaps  a  fair  captive — awaited 
his  return  at  the  end  of  a  triumphal  procession  ?  Here 
was  a  fine  carriage,  it  was  true.  But  there  were  only 
the  solemn  coachman  and  footman  to  greet  him  with 
a  merely  respectful  "Good  evening,  sir,"  and  they 
would  have  been  just  as  respectful  had  he  been  de- 
feated, so  long  as  their  wages  were  paid. 

Well,  he  would  enjoy  the  fruits  of  victory,  soon  or 
late — as  soon  as  his  beautiful  Marie  returned  to  the 
city,  in  fact.    If  she  were  only  here  to-night! 

It  was  Saturday  evening,  and  the  next  morning  he 
was  to  drive  to  church  with  his  wife.  He  was  now  a 
vestryman  in  St.  Mark's,  and  he  regularly  attended 
services  with  her  whenever  he  was  in  the  city.  She 
saw  so  little  of  him  at  other  times  that  she  was  always 
glad  when  Sunday  came.  The  rector  and  the  parish- 
ioners thought  them  a  devoted  couple.  And  the  pass- 
ing of  the  contribution  plate  by  Gorman  was  regarded 
as  a  kindly  and  generously  performed  task  by  one 
whose  very  presence  was  a  bulwark  of  religion. 

But,  in  truth,  Millicent  and  he  saw  less  and  less  of 
each  other  as  time  went  on.  They  even  had  separate 
chambers,  after  the  manner  of  fashionable  foreign  folk 
whose  homes  he  had  visited.  His  occasional  absences 
over  night  became  more  and  more  regular,  and  finally 
were  regarded  by  her  as  a  matter  of  course.  His 
excuses  were  always  the  same,  "Business  conferences," 
and  the  words  were  spoken  in  tones  of  increasing  curt- 


50  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

ness  until  she  ceased  to  make  inquiries.  Before  the 
end  of  a  year  she  took  up  church  work  to  fill  part  of 
the  great  void  in  her  existence. 

Returned  from  Sunday  morning  service,  he  was  rest- 
less all  the  day,  reading  a  little  but  brooding  more.  At 
last,  throwing  upon  the  mahogany  center  table  of  the 
library  a  book  of  Jefferson's  political  philosophy  which 
had  brought  many  a  sneer  to  his  face,  he  looked 
toward  his  wife  and  said:  "I'm  going  down  to  the 
Everett  House  this  evening.  My  lawyer  wants  to  talk 
things  over  with  me  and  one  or  two  others.  And  I 
may  have  to  take  another  little  trip  out  of  town." 

She  laid  down  her  copy  of  St.  Elmo,  over  which 
she  had  often  thrilled  and  sighed  in  years  past,  and 
in  which  she  was  now  trying  to  get  interested  again. 
She  had  riches,  servants,  carriages,  she  had  fashionable 
gowns  and  jewels,  and  with  all  these  she  had  social 
prestige  as  great  as  she  had  ever  wished  for  as  a  novel- 
reading  girl.  But  not  finding  romance  in  real  life,  she 
had  returned  to  the  kind  of  fiction  that  she  had  loved 
in  her  youth  in  order  to  recall  those  gilded  visions  that 
had  once  filled  so  many  day  dreams. 

"Very  well,  Clay,"  she  responded,  quietly.  "I  was 
hoping  you  might  be  home  to-night,  for  the  Hudsons 
thought  of  coming  in  for  a  while.  They  are  the  only 
neighbors  you  seem  to  care  anything  about." 

"Oh,  Hudson's  not  a  bad  sort,  but  he  lacks  nerve," 
he  said,  as  he  put  on  his  top  coat  and  pushed  back  the 
forelock  that  had  fallen  over  his  brow,  the  while 
regarding  himself  approvingly  in  a  pier  glass.  "He 
held  back  from  buying  any  New  York  and  Tellahanna 
stock  until  I  had  put  Gluten  and  Bliss  out  of  the  game. 
And  the  case  had  hardly  been  decided  yesterday  when 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  51 

he  sent  me  a  message  saying  that  he  wanted  to  get  in. 
He  won't  do." 

He  started  away,  but  turned  before  reaching  the 
door,  walked  back  to  where  she  was  seated  and  gave 
her  the  kiss  she  expected,  but  which  she  knew  he 
bestowed  only  because  it  was  expected,  a  knowledge 
that  made  it  worse  than  tasteless.  Then  he  sauntered 
carelessly  out  of  the  door,  down  the  graveled  path 
and  past  the  stone  pillars  that  formed  the  gateway 
to  the  brick  wall  which  fenced  their  colonial  home. 
He  did  not  turn  and  wave  his  hand  in  farewell,  as  he 
had  never  failed  to  do  during  the  first  half  year  of 
their  married  life.  She  went  up  to  her  room  half 
blinded  with  tears,  to  spend  another  night  in  mourning 
for  her  dead  love,  and  in  praying  for  a  child. 

He  returned  from  the  conference  after  midnight — 
for  this  time  he  had  really  attended  a  business  confer- 
ence. The  next  evening  he  remained  at  home,  and  he 
was  more  cheerful,  and  more  considerate  of  her  feel- 
ings than  he  had  been  for  many  weeks.  He  even  con- 
sented to  play  checkers  with  some  members  of  St. 
Mark's  church,  who  unexpectedly  called. 

Millicent  was  nearer  happy  than  she  had  been  for 
an  entire  year.  She  did  not  guess,  and  she  could  not 
know,  as  she  had  never  dared  to  search  his  pockets, 
that  his  mood  was  due  to  a  letter  with  a  Southern  post- 
mark upon  it  which  he  had  received  that  morning. 
The  letter  exhaled  a  perfume  remindful  of  its  writer, 
and  it  read  like  this : 


"My  Own  Deat?: 

"Your  poor  Marie  is  not  so  happy  to-day  as  she  was 
when  yon  last  saw  her.  Her  eyes  are  red  from  weeping, 
and  there  is  no  one  to  kiss  the  tears  away,  which  makes 
her  weep  asrain.  Ah,  if  you  were  only  here  to  comfort 
her  in  her  loneliness  and  misfortune!     But  I  can  write  to 


52  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

you,  knowing  that  the  horrid  ocean  no  longer  divides  us, 
as  it  did  during  those  long  weeks  when  you  were  away 
with — with  another — another  whom  you  have  sworn  yott 
can  never  love  as  you  love  me.  That  assurance  in  your 
last  letter,  which  I  have  just  read,  is  the  one  bright  and 
shining  star  in  a  sky  otherwise  dark  and  storm-clouded. 

"If  only  our  company  had  kept  out  of  the  South!  But  I 
had  not  been  here  since  my  poor  dear  mamma  died,  and 
I  wanted  to  see  dear  old  New  Orleans  again.  And  our 
manager  thought  that  by  this  time  the  large  Southern 
towns  would  pay  well  enough.  But  from  the  time  we 
left  St  Louis  things  went  badly.  At  Memphis,  at  Nash- 
ville, at  Natchez,  at  Mobile,  at  Baton  Rouge,  the  attend- 
ance dwindled  more  and  more.  It  is  not  that  the  best 
people — the  kind  that  would  come  to  our  plays — have  a 
prejudice  against  a  Northern  troupe.  They  are  above  that 
in  matters  of  art,  and  besides  I  was  born  in  the  South, 
and  many  of  them  know  it.  But  the  class  that  supports  our 
kind  of  theatricals  are  still  working  to  build  up  ruined 
plantations,  and  they  have  no  time  or  money  for  amuse- 
ments, and  the  commercial  people  who  have  begun  to 
make  the  most  money  in  railroads  and  things  don't  know 
how  to  spend  it. 

"Why,  just  think,  dear,  I  have  worn  the  same  street 
dress  ever  since  I  left  New  York  in  August — and  this  is 
November  fifteenth!  And  I  have  worn  out  my  last  pair 
of  silk  stockings.  I  dare  not  raise  my  dress  above  my 
ankles  in  crossing  a  street,  for  I  must  not  be  known  to 
wear  cotton  ones.  Part  of  the  troupe  left  us  at  Mobile  for 
lack  of  salaries,  and  we  have  had  to  double  up  in  parts 
since.  Two  nights  ago  Mr.  Hammond,  the  manager, 
decided  it  was  no  use,  and  closed  after  the  second  per- 
formance of  'The  Taming  of  the  Shrew,'  when  we  had 
intended  to  play  for  a  week.  And  here  we  are  in  Louis- 
ville, unable  to  raise  enough  money  to  get  us  even  as 
far  as  Pittsburgh.  And  I,  with  a  board  bill  of  sixty-six 
dollars  for  myself  and  maid,  and  almost  too  shabby  to 
appear  on  the  street! 

"Oh,  my  dear,  if  I  could  only  be  back  in  New  York  where 
I  could  be  comforted  by  you  as  no  one  else  can  comfort 
me!  That  dear  hotel  apartment  where  we  were  so  often 
happy  together!  And  those  drives  in  the  park,  and  over 
country  roads  at  dusk,  when  I  sometimes  had  to  make  you 
behave — ah,  will  I  ever  be  happy  again!!! 

"If  I  were  there  now  I  know  I  could  organize  a  better 
company  of  my  own,  and  start  over  again  this  season. 
There  is  a  rich  manager  of  another  company  here  who 
wants  to  advance  me  five  thousand  dollars.  But  I  don't 
like  the  way  he  looks  at  me,  even  if  he  is  thought  hand- 
some by  some  women.  Yet  he  is  so  kind,  and  it  seems 
that  so  very  few  people  m  this  dark  and  gloomy  world 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  53 

are  kind  to  your  Marie  any  more.  She  is  lonely  and 
miserable,  and  doesn't  know  what  do.  Write  her  a  nice, 
long  letter.  Your  last  one  is  now  her  most  precious 
possession,  and  it  reposes  next  her  heart.  The  way  you 
referred  to  Napoleon's  letters  to  Josephine — how  he  sent 
her  kisses,  but  didn't  want  her  to  send  him  any,  since  they 
always  set  him  on  fire,  and  how  you  wanted  me  to  send 
you  kisses,  even  if  they  did  burn,  as  you  would  willingly 
be  consumed  in  such  a  flame — ah,  that  was  so  beautiful 
and  full  of  meaning! 

"I  must  close  now,  for  I  would  not  worry  you,  dear,  with 
all  your  business  and  matrimonial  cares.  There  is  one 
woman  to  be  envied  above  all  others  in  this  world,  and 
she  is  there  by  your  side.  And  there  is  one  to  be  pitied 
above  all  others,  and  she  is  here — your  sorrowful  and 
lonely  but  loving  "Makie." 

When  Gorman  had  finished  this,  he  picked  up  an 
order  he  had  just  written  to  a  furrier  for  a  complete 
set  of  sealskins  for  his  wife's  birthday.  He  tore  that 
to  fragments,  and  then  he  wrote  a  long  letter,  enclosed 
a  check  of  large  size,  and  mailed  it  to  Louisville. 

A  week  later,  in  a  closed  cariage,  he  crossed  on  the 
ferry  to  Jersey  City  to  meet  a  train  from  the  West.  He 
did  not  return  home  that  night,  nor  the  next  night, 
nor  for  several  nights  thereafter.  Two  weeks  later 
the  dramatic  columns  of  all  the  newspapers  announced : 

"Marie  Dalton,  after  an  only  partly  successful  tour  of 
the  West  and  South,  has  formed  a  new  company  of  her 
own,  to  play  a  repertoire  of  the  best  classic  and  modern 
drama.  She  will  spend  the  remainder  of  the  season  in 
New  York." 


CHAPTER  VII 

A   PROFIT   OF   ONE   MILLION 

"Why,  Clay,  you  almost  take  my  breath  away !"  said 
Asa  Gorman,  looking  at  him  with  new  interest  and 
admiration.     "I  myself  would  hardly  have  dared  to 


54  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

float  so  much  capital  on  such  a  road.  It's  seventy-five 
thousand  or  more  for  each  mile.  But  I'm  proud  of 
you,  and  I  hope  you  can  make  it  go." 

"Oh,  the  bonds  are  being  placed  all  right,  and  so 
are  the  stocks.  The  investors,  of  course,  don't  know 
that  the  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  road  could  be  dupli- 
cated for  thirty  thousand  a  mile.  But  the  value  I  have 
set  on  it  will  be  realized  soon,  for  I  have  made  a  com- 
bination with  the  rival  line  on  rates,  and  besides,  the 
natural  growth  of  the  coal  traffic  will  help  along.  Of 
course,  some  of  the  securities  will  have  to  go  to  Bilkins 
and  his  crowd  of  the  other  road." 

"And  the  new  capital  is  eight  millions !"  mused  the 
old  man.  "And  on  top  of  that,  four  per  cent,  bonds  to 
the  amount  of  three  millions  more  will  be  floated. 
Well,  our  international  prestige  will  probably  carry 
it  through.  It's  lucky  that  Gluten  is  so  busy  corner- 
ing the  gold  market,  or  else  he  might  turn  his  bat- 
teries on  us  in  revenge." 

"Yes,  I  decided  that  this  was  the  psychological  hour 
to  put  the  deal  through,"  said  the  younger  man,  draw- 
ing complacently  on  a  strong  Havana,  and  watching 
the  rings  float  lazily  out  of  the  open  office  window 
into  the  April  sunshine.  "There's  only  a  little  criticism 
so  far,  which  comes  from  a  paper  whose  owner  is 
friendly  to  a  small  clique  of  stockholders  whom  I 
wouldn't  let  in  on  the  cutting  of  the  big  melon.  The 
paper  is  the  Luminary,  and  it  has  quite  a  following, 
because  Dalaman,  who  runs  it,  was  in  Lincoln's  cab- 
inet. As  if  that  made  any  difference  in  Dalaman's 
motives !" 

"It  makes  no  actual  difference  in  his  motives,  but  the 
Lincolnesque  halo  he  wears  makes  a  difference  in  the 
public  mind,"  rejoined  the  uncle.     "You've  got  to  be 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  55 

careful  how  you  handle  the  press.  The  libel  laws  are 
looser  here  than  in  any  other  country,  and  sometimes 
one  paper  can  start  an  agitation  that  will  smash  the 
biggest  of  plans.  Gluten's  success  is  largely  due  to  the 
fact  that  he  owns  one  paper,  and  knows  how  to  influ- 
ence others  at  critical  times.  And  I  have  headed  off 
more  than  one  attack  by  diplomacy.  'Give  a  hound  a 
bone,'  is  my  motto,  when  the  chase  gets  too  hot.  Dala- 
man  probably  wants  a  share  of  those  stocks,  or  maybe 
he'd  prefer  the  bonds,  as  he's  pretty  wise,  and  if  you 
let  him  in  on  low  terms,  he  will  probably  give  no  more 
space  to  those  complaints." 

"I  haven't  told  you  what  my  share  for  reorganizing 
the  road  is  to  be,"  Clay  resumed,  after  a  time.  "Of 
course,  I  and  my  friends  will  run  things,  but  besides 
controlling  a  majority  of  the  stock  I  have  placed  a 
million  of  the  bonds  to  my  personal  credit." 

"A  million?  Well,  I  think  that  beats  any  single 
deal  thus  far  pulled  of!  by  anyone.  But  what  do  the 
stockholders  say  to  that?" 

"Some  of  them  squealed,  but  I  had  them  in  a  cor- 
ner. I  said,  Til  place  these  securities  on  the  terms 
named,  or  not  at  all.'  The  prestige  of  our  house,  and 
the  politicians  in  our  following  and  whose  non-inter- 
ference I  told  them  I  felt  sure  of,  made  them  realize 
that  they  would  better  come  to  my  terms.  Besides,  the 
promised  rise  in  rates  helped  to  win  over  the  principal 
kickers,  for  it  will  really  make  their  new  shares  worth 
more  than  the  old  ones.  Of  course,  too,  I  looked  after 
my  friends  of  the  new  directorate." 

"And  now  you're  a  millionaire  in  your  own  right," 
continued  the  old  man,  admiringly.  "Well,  well,  and 
you  are  barely  thirty.  I  knew  you  had  it  in  you, 
though  I  didn't  think  you'd  do  it  so  soon.     But  keep 


56  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

a  cool  head.  There  are  as  many  fine  fish  in  the  sea  as 
were  ever  caught.  Always  be  an  optimist  in  the  mar- 
ket— a  bull,  as  they  say  on  'Change.  This  country  is 
going  to  outdistance  the  world  in  business,  and  the 
railroads  are  the  key  to  the  situation — the  railroads 
and  capital.  But  I  am  growing  old — yes,  growing 
old,"  and  he  looked  moodily  out  of  the  window. 

These  words  of  his  uncle  started  a  train  of  thought 
in  Clay's  mind.  And  long  after  the  old  man  and  the 
clerks  had  gone  home  for  the  day,  and  the  traffic  in 
the  narrow  streets  of  the  financial  district  had  ceased, 
and  dusk  had  settled  upon  all  the  marts  of  trade,  and 
the  gas  lights  at  street  corners  shone  upon  only  an 
occasional  wayfarer,  he  sat,  meditating. 

A  million  dollars !  He  had  "made"  within  much  less 
than  one  year  the  amount  of  the  President's  salary  as 
it  then  was  for  forty  years.  He  could  retire  now,  and 
continue  to  receive  as  long  as  he  lived,,  and  his  heirs 
after  him  could  receive  indefinitely  an  income  from  this 
million,  at  the  modest  rate  of  five  per  cent.,  of  twice  the 
President's  salary.  Why,  then,  should  he  long  for  the 
fleeting  glory,  with  its  puny  financial  rewards,  of  the 
greatest  office  possible  to  win  in  this  country? 

A  million  dollars !  It  was  more  than  the  King  of 
Saxony  received  in  a  year  for  the  support  of  all  his 
royal  household.  Was  not  he,  Gorman,  then,  in  the 
class  of  royalty,  by  virtue  of  his  surpassing  financial 
legerdemain  ?  Aye,  and  he  was  superior  to  some  of  the 
proudest  of  European  monarchs  in  his  income  for  this 
year,  and  if  he  kept  on  at  the  rate  he  was  going,  what 
triumphs  were  not  possible?  But  to  consider  this  year 
alone :  There  was  the  Queen  of  Holland,  with  her  civil 
list  of  three  hundred  thousand,  and  the  King  of  Servia, 
with  his  paltry  two  hundred  thousand,  and  the  King  of 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  57 

Wurtemburg,  with  his  five  hundred  thousand.  These 
three  monarchs  together  received  only  as  much  as  he 
had  made  by  a  single  Napoleonic  coup  in  finance. 

A  million  dollars !  His  mathematical  mind  pondered 
the  sum.  A  dollar  a  day  was  the  wages  of  a  laborer 
on  his  railroad — his  railroad,  on  which  he  had  never 
traveled  till  after  it  became  his,  and  parts  of  which  he 
had  not  seen  even  yet.  If  such  a  laborer,  who  digged 
in  the  soil,  and  laid  the  ties,  and  fastened  the  rails  to 
them,  and  did  other  back-breaking  work  to  make  his 
dollar  each  day,  were  to  undertake  to  make  a  million 
dollars,  how  long  would  it  take  him?  Why,  it  would 
take  a  million  days,  without  allowing  for  holidays  or 
for  accidents,  for  sickness,  or  pestilence,  or  famine. 
It  would  take  a  million  days  to  make,  not  to  save,  a 
million  dollars.  And  by  dividing  the  figure  1,000,000 
by  365,  one  might  learn  the  number  of  necessary  years 
of  toil.  The  answer  was  2,739.  Two  thousand,  seven 
hundred  and  thirty-nine  years  would  be  required,  not 
counting  a  twelvemonth  or  two  extra  on  account  of 
leap  years,  and  the  laborer  would  have  to  be  endowed 
with  immortality.  And  where  would  this  take  him  in 
history?  It  would  take  him  back  eight  hundred  years 
before  the  birth  of  Julius  Caesar,  and  more  than  eight 
hundred  years  before  the  appearance  of  the  Crucified 
One,  whose  name  Gorman  glorified  in  the  hymns  he 
sang  every  Sunday  morning. 

Just  then  he  felt  a  pang  in  his  stomach,  which  re- 
minded him  he  had  forgotten  dinner.  He  suddenly 
felt  very  hungry.  His  cigar  had  long  since  gone  out. 
He  lighted  another  to  appease  his  appetite  until  he 
reached  home,  and  left  the  office. 

As  he  stepped  upon  the  sidewalk,  he  saw  a  bent  and 
aged  man  under  the  gas  lamp  on  the  corner.    The  man 


58  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

was  poorly  dressed,  and  he  walked  with  a  shuffling 
gait,  and  Gorman  knew  that  he  was  a  beggar  before  he 
heard  his  whining  plea  for  alms.  The  old  man's  eyes 
lighted  up  as  he  saw  the  large  diamond  in  Gorman's 
cravat  and  the  heavy  gold  watch  chain  which  hung 
across  his  stomach  from  pockets  on  either  side  of  his 
silken  waistcoat. 

"I  have  not  had  a  bite  to  eat  since  yesterday,"  he 
began,  and  his  gaunt  appearance  justified  his  words. 

Gorman  had  been  in  the  habit  of  giving  to  any  beg- 
gar who  seemed  really  deserving  a  twenty-five  cent 
piece.  But  now  he  felt  in  his  pocket,  brought  forth 
several  quarters  and  dimes,  and  carefully  selected  one 
of  the  smaller  coins.  He  handed  this  to  the  beggar, 
put  the  rest  back  in  his  pocket  and  then  walked  hur- 
riedly away. 

He  was  feeling,  in  greater  degree  than  ever  before, 
the  responsibilities  of  wealth. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


HIS    FIRST-BORN 


"It  is  a  boy,  Clay,"  the  fond  mother  said,  holding 
aside  the  silken  hangings  of  the  canopy  of  the  Napo- 
leon bed. 

His  soul  had  expanded  with  a  joy  that  only  the 
father  of  a  first-born  child  may  know.  And  it  was  a 
joy  greater  than  that  felt  by  the  ordinary  father,  as 
his  ambition  was  greater.  Now  he  would  have  an  heir 
and,  as  the  child  was  a  male,  a  successor  to  his  growing 
fortune   and — dominions.     Yes,  his  estate  would  be 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  59 

such  that  a  common  word  would  not  express  it.  It 
should  and  would  be  something  worthy  of  a  child  born 
in  the  kind  of  bed  in  which  his  child  had  first  seen  the 
light  of  day. 

He  had  bought  that  bed  of  an  impoverished  French 
widow,  who  had  lived  near  his  uncle's  mansion.  It 
had  been  in  her  family's  possession  since  the  days  of 
the  Empire.  Regally  it  stood  upon  its  massive  posts  of 
carved  mahogany,  its  feet  shaped  like  a  lion's  claws, 
its  four  tall  supports  to  the  canopy  topped  by  bronze 
eagles.  He  had  slept  in  the  bed  ever  since  his  bachelor 
days,  and  until  several  months  after  Millicent  had 
become  enciente  (he  preferred  the  French  word), 
when  it  was  moved  into  her  chamber. 

For  the  first  time  in  two  years  there  had  been  some- 
thing akin  to  rapture  in  the  kiss  he  gave  her  when  she 
said,  "It's  a  boy,  Clay."  And  for  the  next  few  days 
she  had  been  nearer  happy  than  at  any  time  since  the 
early  days  of  their  honeymoon.  He  showered  her  with 
Marechal  Niel  roses  until  she  reposed  upon  a  couch 
of  golden,  fragrant  beauty,  and  he  waited  upon  her 
with  all  a  lover's  gallantry,  and  gave  her  frequent 
caresses  with  almost  a  lover's  fervor.  Was  she  not 
the  mother  of  his  heir — his  heir,  who  was  to  succeed 
to  his  dominions?  And  he  had  begun  to  fear  that  she 
would  not  have  a  child,  after  all. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE   GREAT   REORGANIZER 

"I  see  that  another  railroad  wants  you  to  reorganize 
it,"  remarked  Asa  Gorman,  looking  up  from  his  morn- 


60  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

ing  paper,  as  Clay  entered  the  office.  "You  didn't  tell 
me  about  it.  This  makes  five,  doesn't  it,  in  the  last  two 
years  ?" 

"Yes,"  said  Clay,  "and  this  is  the  biggest  of  all.  I 
didn't  mention  it  because  I  was  not  yet  sure.  The  news 
must  have  been  given  out  at  the  Ohio  headquarters 
of  the  road.    That  means  they  have  come  to  my  terms." 

"How  you  do  put  the  deals  through !  I  take  as  much 
pride  in  them  as  though  I  myself  was  the  moving  spirit, 
instead  of  being  an  old  man  who  lacked  foresight  in  his 
own  youth.  Here,  take  this  Havana — it's  the  real  thing, 
and  hard  to  get  nowadays,  since  the  Cuban  revolt  is  on. 
Now  tell  me  about  this  latest  deal." 

"Well,  uncle,"  said  Clay,  lighting  the  fifty-cent  cigar 
and  whiffing  the  smoke  ceilingward  in  graceful 
wreaths,  "without  your  aid  and  prestige  from  the 
beginning,  I  wouldn't  have  been  half  so  good  at  this 
reorganizing  business.  But  about  this  latest,"  and  then 
he  narrated  his  work  in  putting  another  system  on  its 
financial  feet,  and  told  of  his  plan  to  place  two  mil- 
lions in  securities  to  the  credit  of  Gorman  &  Company. 

"It  was  high  time  something  like  this  was  done  to 
bring  order  out  of  chaos,"  mused  the  old  man,  after 
the  recital.  "The  situation  is  frightful,  compared 
with  any  other  country  in  the  world.  A  hundred  rail- 
way systems  have  been  wrecked  by  their  organizers, 
and  interest  payments  defaulted  on  near  half  a  billion 
of  bonds,  and  State  and  national  governments  have  been 
euchered  out  of  the  many  millions  they  were  so  kind 
as  to  loan  to  the  promoters.  If  this  were  a  monarchy, 
and  the  people  knew  how  things  had  been  going,  the 
throne  would  be  overturned  damned  quick." 

"I  suppose  you  know,"  said  Clay,  "how  men  of  straw 
have  held  shares  amounting  to  as  much  as  half  a  mil- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  61 

lion  each  in  some  companies,  while  many  directorships 
were  filled  by  the  same  man  ?" 

"Yes,  and  how  porters  and  office  boys  have  been 
made  directors  to  vote  for  extensions  or  for  contracts 
to  supply  materials  at  enormous  prices  to  enrich  the 
ruling  clique.  Many  other  crooked  deals  have  been 
put  through.  There  is  not  one  American  road  upon 
which  some  or  most  of  these  things  were  not  done, 
and  on  which  they  will  not  continue  to  be  done.  But 
there  is  no  comparison  in  the  world  with  the  land 
grants  and  government  bond  issues,  and  the  over- 
capitalization." 

"But  many  of  these  things  strike  me  as  petty  and 
unscientific,"  Clay  went  on.  "Agreements  on  rates,  the 
organization  of  supply  companies  on  a  large  scale,  re- 
bates to  powerful  shippers  to  put  rivals  out  of  busi- 
ness, and  the  respectable  selling  of  stocks  and  bonds 
on  'Change,  based  on  whatever  capitalization  we  want 
to  fix — that  is  the  way  to  do  things." 

''Fine !  Fine !  I  see  you've  got  the  scientific  idea," 
chuckled  the  old  man.  "And  always  look  after  the 
politicians,  too — the  leaders,  you  know.  Never  mind 
the  small  fry." 

"Of  course  not,"  returned  Clay,  lighting  another 
cigar.  "The  Napoleonic  idea  of  going  to  the  centre 
is  the  thing.  If  you  get  the  strategic  centre,  the  rest 
is  easy.  Now,  there's  the  Governor  in  this  State,  and 
the  chairman  of  the  State  Committee.  They  know  how 
to  do  things,  and  the  little  politicians  know  they  will 
get  no  party  promotion  if  they  oppose  them.  And  so 
it  is  in " 

"The  politicians  are  getting  more  greedy,  though," 
Asa  Gorman  broke  in.  He  was  occasionally  hard  of 
hearing,  and  he  often  interrupted  another  person  thus 


62  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

unless  he  saw  the  other's  lips  moving.  "Thirty  dollars 
a  man  used  to  be  the  price  in  the  New  York  Legislature 
and  it  seldom  went  above  fifty.  Now  it's  a  hundred. 
Some  want  four  or  five  hundred,  and  others  will  take 
thirty  or  forty,  so  I'm  told,  but  the  average  is  a  hun- 
dred. In  Massachusetts,  and  in  a  few  far  Western 
States,  the  average  is  about  fifty.  Of  course,  there's 
always  some  that  won't  be  induced  to  vote  one  way  or 
another  if  they  don't  want  to,  for  any  consideration, 
not  even  political  promotion,  but  the  majority  can 
always  be  won  over.  That's  been  the  experience  of  De 
Blick  and  his  crowd,  anyhow,  and  they've  got  the  rail- 
roads of  this  State  and  Jersey  well  in  hand." 

"Oh,  yes,  the  majority  always  can  be  handled,"  said 
the  nephew.  "And  what  can't  be  done  in  one  State  can 
be  done  in  another.  Gluten  bought  a  whole  county- 
ful  of  free  and  independent  citizens  in  West  Virginia 
recently  to  put  through  an  important  connection  for 
one  of  his  roads — lined  'em  up  and  gave  'em  two  to  five 
dollars  each,  and  thus  beat  the  county  board  which  was 
trying  to  keep  him  out.  The  same  thing's  been  done 
in  other  States.  They  say  Gluten  never  bothers  to  elect 
anyone  to  office.  He  waits  till  after  election  and  then 
goes  after  the  men  he  needs.    He  says  it's  simpler." 

"Yes,  but  campaign  funds  and  stocks  and  bonds  are 
the  more  scientific — always  remember  that,"  and  the 
old  man  never  looked  more  serious,  or  more  wise 
"Gluten  is  a  brilliant  meteor,  but  he  leaves  too  many 
tracks,  and  he  rouses  strong  opposition — needlesslv  so, 
I  think." 

"Speaking  of  greedy  politicians,"  continued  Clay,  "I 
don't  know  of  any  whose  greed  equals  that  of  the  fed- 
eral judge  who  ordered  the  sale  of  the  J.  and  B.  road 
which  I'm  going  to  reorganize.     He  appointed  one  of 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  63 

his  former  law  partners  receiver,  and  the  receiver's  fee 
for  simply  selling  the  road,  and  which  the  court  cheer- 
fully allowed,  was  fifty  thousand — for  one  hour's  work, 
mind  you.  Of  course  the  judg"e  must  have  got  at  least 
half  of  that." 

"Oh,  yes,  those  fellows  come  high.  But  never 
oppose  them,  except  through  some  other  lawyer.  The 
courts  are  the  best  bulwark  that  our  financial  struc- 
ture has.  And  remember  that  in  two  decisions :  the 
Georgia  land  grant  case  in  seventeen-ninety  some- 
ing,  and  the  Dartmouth  College  case  as  argued  by  the 
great  Daniel  Webster,  the  federal  Supreme  Court  has 
done  more  for  property  rights  than  was  ever  done  by 
the  judges  of  any  one  other  court  in  the  world.  These 
decisions  are  the  twin  pillars  of  modern  corporate 
power.  In  the  first  case  there  had  been  charges  of 
bribery,  but  it  was  decided  that  no  matter  how  the 
Legislature  was  influenced  to  make  its  grant,  the  grant 
must  stand,  even  though  the  succeeding  Legislature 
tried  to  rescind  its  action.  In  the  second,  the  court 
held  that  a  charter  once  granted  could  not  be  revoked 
for  any  cause.  So,  you  see,  the  judges  by  these  decis- 
ions, and  by  their  ability  to  maintain  their  superioritv 
to  law-making  bodies,  though  the  Constitution  does  not 
give  them  that  superiority,  have  made  themselves  indis- 
pensable to  our  class — especially  the  federal  judiciary, 
who  are  appointed  for  life." 

"You  have  a  good  command  of  law,  even  if  you  are 
not  a  lawyer,"  said  Clay,  admiringly. 

"But  I  have  a  better  command  of  lawyers,"  amended 
the  old  man.  "Now,  take  Burlemuth,  our  clever 
counsel " 

"That  reminds  me,"  interposed  his  nephew,  taking  a 


64  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

letter  from  his  pocket  "Here  is  something  from 
Burlermith.  He  seems  to  know  how  to  do  things,  as 
this  will  show.  Your  wisdom  in  picking  him  off  the 
bench  to  make  him  our  chief  of  counsel  in  Pennsyl- 
vania at  twice  his  official  salary  is  justified.  But  read 
this." 

Asa  Gorman  took  the  letter  and  read : 

"Our  new  reform  Governor  does  not  yield  to  the  usual 
arguments,  and  we  will  have  to  bring  about  the  desired 
result  in  some  more  indirect  manner.  As  you  know,  the 
general  distrust  of  the  Legislature,  due  to  disclosures  as 
to  how  coal  and  other  lands  have  been  given  away  in  past 
years,  led  to  the  passage  of  especially  stringent  laws 
against  bribery.  The  penalties  were  doubled,  and  the 
language  of  the  statute  is  more  sweeping  than  that  in  any 
other  State. 

"It  was  particularly  hard  to  obtain  the  passage  of  the  bill 
so  much  desired  by  the  New  York  and  Tellahanna  stock- 
holders— the  one  permitting  one  railway  company  to  own 
the  shares  of  another  company,  so  that  an  advantageous 
combination  of  roads  could  be  brought  about  Legislators 
feared  to  vote  for  even  so  worthy  a  measure,  on  account 
of  the  state  of  public  feeling.  However,  the  desired 
result  has  been  brought  about  A  full  report  of  the  lega.t 
expenses  involved  will  be  made  upon  my  return.  But  now 
the  Governor  proves  a  stumbling  block.  He  wants  another 
term,  and  he  fears  that  even  such  a  thing  as  the  possession 
by  him  of  railway  stocks  or  bonds  would  be  construed  by 
some  persons  as  something  in  his  disfavor,  if  it  should 
ever  become  known.  He  was  elected  on  a  reform  wave, 
and  he  has  Senatorial  ambitions. 

"Well,  to  get  to  the  point:  He  has  some  waste  land 
somewhere  in  the  Allegheny  foothills,  upon  which  he  is 
willing  to  take  a  mortgage  of  thirty  thousand.  He  wants 
to  send  his  family  upon  a  tour  of  Europe,  and  then  build 
a  new  house  for  them  to  move  into  as  soon  as  they  return. 
He  is  so  busy  planning  these  things  that  he  tells  me  he 
has  had  no  time  to  think  over  the  merits  or  demerits  of 
that  railway  bilL  If  I  were  to  take  that  mortgage  off  his 
mind  he  could  find  time  to  consider  the  bill,  and  I  believe 
he  would  consider  it  favorably.  There  may  be— remem- 
ber, I  do  not  say  there  are — but  there  may  be  rich  coal 
deposits  underlying  his  land.  Anyhow,  we  should  be 
willing  to  take  chances,  and  in  the  interests  of  the  New 
York  and  Tellahanna  I  am  willing  to  assume  the  mortgage 
if  allowed  the  necessary  legal  expenses." 


THE  AMERICAN   EMPEROR  65 

"By  God !"  ejaculated  the  old  man.  "That  is  a  new 
one,  but  it  is  clever.  Well,  you're  running  that  rail- 
road, and  you  know  best  what  to  do.  I've  always 
found,  for  my  part,  though,  that  the  way  to  succeed 
is  to  succeed." 

The  genius  of  young  Mr.  Gorman  in  extending  the 
New  York  and  Tallahanna  road  and  in  doubling  its 
dividends  that  year  added  greatly  to  his  reputation. 

His  fortune  now  mounted  rapidly.  His  fee  for  reor- 
gaizing  a  road  grew  to  be  a  million  and  a  half,  then 
two  millions,  and,  finally,  in  the  case  of  a  great  sys- 
tem, three  millions.  He  began  to  be  looked  upon  as  the 
greatest  and  safest  of  all  reorganizers.  He  seemed  to 
be  the  one  man  who  always  knew  what  to  do  and  fear- 
lessly did  it. 


CHAPTER    X 


A   POLITICAL  CONTEST 


"What  a  splendid  fight  you  are  making,  James! 
You  are  a  host  in  yourself.  I  shall  be  proud  of  you, 
prouder  even  than  I  now  am,  if  to-night  you  can  put  to 
rout  those  clever  debaters  imported  to  champion  the 
railway's  cause,  and  win  over  an  opera  house  full  of 
hostile  people." 

"I  don't  doubt  that  I  can  win  them  over,  if  I  am 
allowed  to  make  my  argument  without  interruption," 
replied  Congressman  Delaval.  "But  remember  that, 
even  though  I  am  elected  to  the  Senate,  it  will  be  only 
the  beginning.  There  is  probably  but  one,  or  perhaps 
there  are  two  Senators  in  Washington,  who  dare  to 


66  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

favor  government  ownership  of  roads.  There  are 
immense  obstacles  to  overcome  before  one  of  the  big* 
parties  will  take  up  the  cause  in  a  national  election." 

"Ah,  but  you  are  sure  to  bring  it  about,  if  any  one 
can,"  said  the  Congressman's  wife,  with  confidence 
born  of  pride,  as  they  drove  through  the  streets  of 
Richmond  on  the  way  to  the  meeting.  "I  cannot 
imagine  any  obstacle  that  you  can't  overcome,  since 
you  have  done  so  much." 

"There  are  dozens  which  I  can  imagine,  however." 
he  responded,  grimly,  though  he  smiled  at  her  words, 
feeling  a  thrill  of  happiness  over  her  devotion.  "Some 
of  my  most  powerful  aids  have  been  seduced  away 
from  me  in  this  contest.  I  myself  was  offered,  only 
last  week,  four  times  the  salary  of  a  Senator  if  I  would 
become  chief  counsel  of  the  Virginia  Central  for  Gor- 
man." 

"But  of  course  you  refused?" 

"I  sent  back  word  that  there  was  not  enough  money 
in  the  federal  treasury  to  cause  me  to  go  over  to  the 
interests  I  have  been  fighting  so  long.  I  want  those 
people  to  understand  that  there  is  one  lawyer  in  politics 
who  is  not  for  sale." 

She  kissed  him  as  the  carriage  halted  before  the 
opera  house  door,  and  then,  to  the  mingled  sounds  of 
acclaim  and  disapproval,  the  sidewalk  crowds  parted 
to  make  way  for  the  speaker  of  the  evening  to  enter 
the  hall. 

Beaten  in  the  courts  after  three  years  of  effort  to 
prevent  Gorman's  reorganization  of  the  Virginia  Cen- 
tral, Congressman  Delaval  had  decided  that  the  only 
way  to  curb  the  railway  power  was  for  the  govern- 
ment to  own  the  railroads.  He  had  twice  been  elected 
to  the  House  on  the  issue,  and  now  was  fighting  his 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  67 

way  into  the  Senate.  He  was  a  magnetic  orator,  and 
the  money  that  was  poured  out  to  defeat  him  produced 
little  effect.  Only  an  occasional  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature could  be  elected  without  a  pledge  to  work  for 
Delaval  for  Senator.  His  campaign  had  stirred  up 
the  Old  Dominion  as  it  had  not  been  stirred  since  the 
close  of  the  war.  His  success  now  would  mean  a  pow- 
erful impetus  throughout  the  country  to  the  cause  of 
government  ownership.  It  seemed  that  at  last  after 
many  years  of  costly  misrule,  the  people  might  come 
into  their  own. 

"The  railway  power  in  America,"  he  said  in  his 
speech  that  night,  "is  already  the  most  gigantic 
power  in  the  world's  commercial  history,  and  it  is 
advancing  at  a  rate  that  augurs  ill  for  the  future 
of  the  republic.  We  now  have  more  railways  than 
Germany  and  Great  Britain  and  France  and  Austria 
combined.  And  we  have  all  of  the  ills  of  manage- 
ment which  those  countries  know,  magnified  many 
times,  and  we  have  few  of  their  benefits.  I  could 
cite  volumes  of  facts  to  prove  this,  but  a  few  will  suf- 
fice. And  I  shall  begin  by  quoting,  not  from  a  political 
pamphlet,  but  from  a  book  written  by  one  of  the  Wall 
Street  oligarchy— by  none  other  than  Richard  Burton. 
It  is  entitled  Twenty  Years  on  the  Stock  Exchange. 
In  a  moment  of  frankness,  he  says  in  this  book  : 

"  'The  actual  cost  of  a  railroad  is  ordinarily  less  than 
fifty  per  cent,  of  the  stock  and  bonds  issued  against  the 
property  and  its  first  mortgage  exceeds  the  amount  of 
legitimate  actual  cost  of  building.  Beyond  the  profit 
made  from  construction,  there  remains  in  the  hands  of  the 
builders  the  ent.re  capital  stock,  besides  any  second  mort- 

foTA°PMS<n  7^  have  reCeived  from  Illative  bodies, 
to  be  held  for  future  appreciation,  and  to  maintain  control 
of  the  company,  and  be  ultimately  sold  on  a  market  deftly 
manipulated  for  that  purpose.  ucitiy 

*  'The  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  so  suddenly  ac- 


68  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

cumulated  by  our  railway  barons  is  the  measure  of  this 
iniquitous  taxation,  this  perverted  distribution  of  wealth.' 

"Out  of  the  mouth  of  the  railway  dragon  itself,  as  it 
were,  has  come  its  own  condemnation.  And  yet  the 
majority  of  voters,  who  do  not  know  the  truth  and 
who,  as  the  railway  power  controls  more  and  more  of 
the  public  press,  and  puts  more  and  more  of  its  puppets 
in  office,  may  never  know  the  truth,  are  regularly  in- 
fluenced to  record  their  approval  of  the  monster  which 
devours  their  substance  and,  by  fearful  wrecks  due  to 
greedy  management,  devours  increasing  numbers  of 
themselves. 

"How  docs  it  devour  their  substance?  In  a  multitude 
of  ways.  The  blood  of  the  very  government  which  fos- 
tered it  is  now  being  sucked  out  by  this  monster. 
We  have  a  postoffice  department  that  is  supposed  to  be 
managed  by  the  nation  in  the  interest  of  the  nation,  but 
is  really  managed  by  the  railways  in  the  interest  of  the 
railways.  No  other  postal  system  in  the  world  is  con- 
ducted at  a  loss  to  the  government.  The  reason  is,  in 
a  word,  that  the  American  railway  power  takes  mil- 
lions more  every  year  from  our  department  than  it 
earns  in  carrying  the  mails,  and  then  points  to  a  postal 
deficit  as  a  warning  against  government  ownership. 

"We  Americans  do  not  like  to  be  compared  with 
other  peoples  unless  favorably.  But  is  it  not  time  that 
we  knew  the  truth  about  this  frightful  dragon  that  is 
gripping  the  nation's  vitals?  On  the  government- 
owned  railways  of  Germany  and  Austria,  not  even 
the  Minister  of  Railways  can  accept  a  pass.  The  Ger- 
man Emperor  himself,  when  he  travels,  buys  a  ticket. 
The  King  of  Great  Britain  also  pays  his  fare.  In 
France  the  railways  agree  to  carry  all  government  offi- 
cials free,  and  so  the  privately  owned  roads  there  can- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  69 

not  subsidize  them  thus.  And  in  France  the  roads  will 
eventually  revert  to  the  nation  without  compensation  to 
their  owners.  What  a  difference  in  America !  Here  a 
gigantic  loot  of  the  national  treasury " 

At  this  point  a  terrific  uproar  was  started  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  hall  and  the  disorder  quickly  spread  to  all 
parts  of  the  audience.  A  gang  of  political  workers  had 
been  imported  from  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  and 
at  a  signal  from  the  leader  they  broke  forth  into  yells, 
cat-calls  and  hisses.  "He's  slandering  the  country," 
"He's  a  liar,"  "He's  un-American,"  "Down  with  the 
demagogue !"  were  some  of  the  cries. 

Fist  fights  were  started  in  a  dozen  places,  and  the 
police  were  called.  The  next  morning  the  chief  news- 
papers said  the  violence  of  Delaval's  utterances  had 
started  a  riot.  But  so  strong  was  his  following  that 
he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  with  many  votes  to  spare, 
and  the  next  winter  he  took  his  seat  amid  demonstra- 
tions of  the  greatest  popular  approval. 


CHAPTER   XI 

A    SPEECH    IN    THE    SENATE 

Speeches  in  Congress  sometimes  reveal  great  truths 
in  splendid  fashion.  But  there  are  so  many  poor 
speeches,  and  so  much  time  is  taken  up  with  debates 
over  dry  and  wearisome  details,  that  it  can  seldom  be 
told  in  advance  when  an  oratorical  effort  will  be  worth 
while.  Even  when  a  famous  orator  is  announced  to 
speak  upon  a  great  question  the  result  is  often  disap- 
pointing, for  an  orator  is  not  always  sure  of  being  elo- 


70  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

quent.  The  subject,  the  hour,  the  man,  must  all  con- 
spire to  produce  a  fine  oration.  And  a  fine  oration 
may  not  be  appreciated  when  delivered.  Many  a 
forensic  masterpiece  has  fallen  upon  hostile  or  unbe- 
lieving ears,  and,  discredited  and  forgotten  almost  as 
soon  as  uttered,  has  been  filed  away  in  dusty  archives, 
to  be  resurrected  in  some  distant  time  when  the  public 
mind  is  better  able  to  understand  its  truth  and  beauty. 

Such  an  oration  was  that  delivered  by  James  Delaval 
in  the  Senate  on  a  March  afternoon  of  the  year  1882. 

"Your  father  will  not  have  a  very  large  audience 
to-day,  I  fear,"  said  Mrs.  Delaval,  who  sat  in  the  gal- 
lery with  her  son,  a  serious  faced  lad  in  his  early  teens. 

"Why  is  that,  mother?"  he  asked.  He  had  melan- 
choly brown  eyes  like  hers,  and  a  high  forehead  and 
a  thin-iipped  mouth,  like  his  father's.  "Doesn't  he 
always  have  lots  of  listeners  ?" 

"He  used  to,  Arthur  dear,  but  now  so  few  of  his 
speeches  are  ever  printed,  or  when  printed  they  are 
distorted  or  belittled  by  the  principal  newspapers.  And 
of  late  few  papers  will  announce  his  speeches  in 
advance.    They  call  him  a  demagogue." 

"What  is  a  demagogue?" 

"Demagogue  is  a  Greek  word,  meaning  one  who  in- 
flames the  passions  of  the  multitude  for  selfish  pur- 
poses. Your  father  was  never  that,  but  the  people  are 
being  made  to  believe  it,  and  that  is  almost  as  bad 
for  him  as  if  he  were  really  such.  You  see,  all  the  big 
capitalists  are  now  against  him.  At  first  it  was  the 
Gorman  power  alone,  and  then  as  the  others,  like 
Gluten  and  De  Blick  and  Plaster  and  Burton,  saw 
what  a  force  he  was  becoming  in  public  life,  they 
joined  with  Gorman  to  help  discredit  him." 

"Why  should  Gorman  hate  my  father?" 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  71 

"Because  his  campaigns  have  cost  Gorman  and  his 
friends  millions.  His  speeches  keep  investors  out  of 
Wall  street.  The  oligarchy  will  never  forgive  him 
that." 

"What  is  an  oligarchy  ?" 

"Oligarchy  is  also  a  Greek  word.  The  first  part  of 
it  means  few,  and  the  second  part  means  government. 
Oligarchy,  then,  is  the  rule  of  a  few  persons  over  the 
many.  And  C.  Jefferson  Gorman,  since  the  death  of 
his  uncle,  seems  to  be  the  leading  spirit  of  our  new 
oligarchy.  When  you  begin  studying  Greek  next  month 
you  will  see  what  beautiful  words  the  people  of  old 
Greece  had  for  even  the  unbeautiful  things  of  life. 
And  when  you  go  to  the  German  university  you  will 
learn  how  the  philosophy  you  study  there  can  be 
applied  to  life  in  America.  But  see,  there  is  your 
father  entering  the  hall  below  us — through  the  middle 
door  he  comes,  leaning  on  his  secretary's  arm." 

"Is  that  father?  Oh,  yes,  I  recognize  him  now.  But 
how  old  he  looks,  and  haggard,  too.  What  a  change 
in  the  seven  months  I  have  been  away  to  school !" 

"Time  is  not  the  only  maker  of  old  age.  Six  years 
ago,  when  he  came  here,  he  looked  twenty  years 
younger  than  he  does  now.  The  past  year  has  aged 
him  more  than  any  other.  But  listen,  if  you  want  to 
hear  a  real  demagogue.  One  is  speaking  now — a  Sen- 
ator from  Texas,  who  has  been  accused  of  bribery." 

The  Texan  was  at  that  instant  brushing  back  a  long 
mane  of  hair  from  his  brow,  while  he  declaimed : 

"I  come  from  the  State  where  the  Alamo  was 
defended  by  those  heroic  men — those  immortal  heroes 
more  brave  than  Achilles'  hosts  at  Troy,  more  resolute 
than  the  Greeks  at  Thermopylae,  more  heroic  than  a 
regiment  of  Horatiuses  at  the  bridge." 


72  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

Here  he  was  interrupted  by  thunderous  applause 
from  his  constituents  in  the  galleries. 

"But  what  has  that  to  do  with  bribery?"  asked 
Arthur. 

"Nothing,  my  son.  That  is  the  way,  however,  to 
make  the  people  forget  about  corruption.  Ah,  he  has 
finished  speaking,  I  am  glad  to  see,  and  the  matter  has 
been  referred  to  a  committee.  And  now  your  father 
is  going  to  speak.  See  how  the  other  Senators  are 
leaving  the  hall.  Most  of  them  take  that  method  of 
showing  disapproval  of  him.  He  stands  almost  alone 
now  in  his  fight,  but  he  is  greater  than  they  all." 

Senator  Delaval  began  with  a  masterly  array  of  facts 
against  the  railway  manipulators,  and  concluded  with 
these  words : 

"The  government  must  own  the  railways,  or  the  rail- 
ways will  own  the  government.  An  overwhelming 
vote  has  just  defeated  the  party  that  made  this  its  slo- 
gan, yet  the  truth  lives.  Majorities  may  be  wrong, 
and  I  think  they  often  are  wrong,  and  when  they  are 
wrong  it  is  our  duty  to  set  them  right.  Bismarck,  that 
giant  among  modern  statesmen,  has  nationalized  the 
railways  of  his  country.  How  did  he  do  it?  He  him- 
self has  said  that  'the  great  questions  of  the  day  are 
not  decided  by  speeches  and  majority  votes,  but  by 
blood  and  iron.'  What  is  true  of  Germany  is  true, 
with  a  slight  difference  in  terms,  of  this  country.  The 
great  questions  of  the  day  among  us  are  not  decided  by 
speeches  and  majority  votes,  but  by  cunning  and  gold. 

"Oh,  that  we  had  a  Bismarck  to  give  real  unity  to 
our  loose  confederation  of  States,  and  create  a  central 
power  strong  enough  to  endure  beyond  a  few  fleeting 
years,  and  to  enforce  respect  for  its  mandates — a  power 
to  match  if  not  to  overcome  our  oligarchy  of  traders, 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  73 

who  are  daily  growing  more  arrogant  and  greedy  and 
terrible ! 

"It  is  a  wondrous  tale  of  empire-building,  the  story 
of  American  railroads.  In  many  parts  it  is  like  a  song 
of  man's  triumph  over  the  hostile  forces  of  nature,  but 
in  others,  alas !  it  is  like  the  Republic's  funeral  dirge. 
We  have  penetrated  wildernesses  with  the  iron  horse, 
and  in  those  quondam  trackless  solitudes  fair  cities 
and  beauteous  homesteads  have  sprung  up  as  though 
in  response  to  a  magic  wand.  We  have  laid  our 
rails  of  steel  across  the  desert  sands,  and  where  in 
former  days  the  tired  feet  of  famished  travelers  sank 
in  glittering  wastes  that  dragged  them  down  to  hellish 
deaths,  while  vultures  soared  aloft  in  waiting  for  a 
feast,  the  swiftest  trains  now  thunder  past,  annihilating 
space  and  carrying  man  on  wings  of  steam  more  sure 
than  vultures'  wings.  We  have  bridged  the  chasms 
and  the  mightiest  rivers,  and  have  tunneled  mountains 
whose  majestic  peaks  are  capped  by  snows  eternal. 

"Through  coldest  winters,  you  of  the  North  have  on 
your  tables  all  the  fruits  the  Southland  knows,  and  in- 
land citizens  may  eat  the  oyster  and  the  finest  dishes  of 
the  sea  almost  as  soon  as  they  are  caught.  The  Eastern 
factory  and  the  Pacific  orange  grove  are  now  as 
though  in  neighboring  counties.  Yes,  mankind  is 
served  by  this  new  power  as  were  the  gods  of  old  in 
poets'  dreams.  Our  carriers  of  steel  and  steam  are 
swift  as  winged  chariots,  and  we  daily  taste  ambrosial 
foods  from  distant  gardens,  and  we  know  by  messen- 
gers more  fleet  than  Mercury  the  things  that  happen 
daily  'round  the  globe. 

"But  beware!  These  instruments  of  power  are  pass- 
ing into  fewer  and  fewer  hands.  The  nation  which 
so  lavishly  has  fostered  them  is  now  itself  in  danger. 


74  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

Already  does  it  play  the  vassal  to  the  railroads  where 
it  should  be  master.  And  the  people  of  no  State  or 
section  are  secure  from  plunder.  The  growing  profits 
of  the  Western  farmers  drew  their  greedy  eyes,  and 
every  year  the  freight  rates  were  put  higher  until  now 
some  forty  millions  more  are  paid  to  transport  wheat 
than  was  exacted  but  a  few  years  since.  When  Con- 
gress passed  a  tariff  law  to  aid  the  lemon  growers,  the 
railroads  were  the  only  gainers.  They  raised  the  rates 
and  took  the  profits — none  could  force  them  to  dis- 
gorge. Towns  are  built  or  towns  are  ruined  as  these 
bandits  will,  and  woe  to  those  who  fail  to  pay  them 
all  the  tribute  asked. 

"Where  are  the  steamboats  of  yesteryear?  Gone 
with  the  galleons  of  Spain.  The  proud  craft  which, 
on  many  a  river,  floated  grandly  past,  are  seen  no  more, 
or  perhaps  are  represented  by  mere  travesties  of  what 
they  were.  The  hoarse  and  musical  blast  that  like  a 
Titan's  horn  once  woke  the  echoes  is  displaced  now  by 
the  shrill  metallic  shriek  of  locomotives.  Tracks  were 
built  to  parallel  the  steamers'  routes,  and  rates  cut 
down  until  the  water  lines  were  throttled,  when  the 
rates  went  up  again.  Canals  were  likewise  paralleled, 
and  in  the  same  way  were  reduced  to  impotence. 

"And  now  the  railroad  power  is  supreme.  And  day 
by  day  this  power  grows  in  arrogance  and  greed. 
Unless  we  take  it  by  the  throat  it's  bound  to  have  our 
heart's  blood.  It  may  be  likened  to  the  fabled  serpent 
in  the  Trojan  war :  instead  of  being  a  heavenly  gift, 
the  gods  mayhap  have  sent  it  as  a  punishment  upon  a 
nation  false  to  its  ideals.  Beware!  or  it  will  seize  the 
fair  Republic  as  the  serpent  seized  Laocoon,  and,  fold- 
ing it  in  coils  of  steel,  crush  out  its  life  and  drag  it  to 
the  depths  of  hell !" 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  75 

The  Senate  chamber  was  almost  empty  as  he 
finished.  The  president  sent  pages  scurrying  about 
the  ante-rooms  to  recall  enough  members  to  vote  for 
adjournment.  The  galleries  were  vacant  save  for  Mrs. 
Delaval  and  Arthur,  and  a  few  yawning  reporters. 
The  early  darkness  of  a  winter's  day  had  fallen  and  a 
mournful  wind  shrieked  about  the  statue  of  Liberty 
on  the  Capitol's  dome,  coating  the  figure  with  ice,  and 
veiling  it  with  swirling  robes  of  snow. 

During  the  remainder  of  his  term  the  Senator  had 
few  friends  among  his  colleagues.  There  were  some 
others  indeed  who  thought  as  he  did,  but  for  fear  of 
being  suspected  of  too  great  friendliness  for  one  whom 
they  knew  to  be  a  marked  man,  they  mostly  avoided 
him.  And  when  he  stood  for  re-election  the  power  he 
had  attacked  reached  out,  seized  him  in  one  of  its  coils 
and  crushed  out  his  political  life.  He  was  denounced 
as  a  Utopian  dreamer,  as  a  demagogue  who  sought 
to  make  himself  a  king,  as  a  disappointed  schemer  who 
had  been  thwarted  in  his  ambition  to  own  the  Virginia 
Central,  and  lastly  as  one  who  had  actually  become 
insane  from  brooding  over  various  impossible  dreams 
and  schemes.  His  very  name  became  a  jest  and  a 
reproach,  and  his  memory  was  discredited  by  all  save 
his  closest  friends. 

END  OF  BOOK  FIRST 


BOOK   SECOND 

MERCEDES 


CHAPTER    I 

AN   INTERNATIONAL   MARRIAGE 

"I  tell  you,  sir,  the  elder  line  of  the  Bourbons  is 
extinct.    The  Count  de  Chambord  was  the  last." 

"Who,  then,  is  the  Count  de  Paris  ?" 

"He  is  a  grandson  of  King  Louis  Philippe,  and  a 
representative  of  the  younger,  or  Orleans  line," 

"And  is  not  this  Count  de  Dalcerand  next  in  suc- 
cession T* 

"Certainly  not.  Philippe,  Due  d'Orleans,  will  suc- 
ceed as  head  of  the  royal  line.  The  Count  de  Dal- 
cerand is  only  a  distant  relative." 

A  high  social  function  was  in  progress  at  the  new 
Dawson  mansion  in  Fifth  avenue,  just  off  Washington 
Square.  This  dialogue,  which  took  place  in  the  smok- 
ing room  before  dinner,  was  characteristic  of  the  con- 
versation among  many  groups  of  guests.  The  dinner 
was  in  honor  of  the  Count  of  Dalcerand,  and  most  of 
New  York  society  was  there  to  meet  him.  The  Count's 
engagement  to  Helen  Dawson,  daughter  of  the  Gov- 
ernor, had  just  been  announced.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gor- 
man,  as  the  closest   friends   of  the  young  woman's 

77 


78  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

parents,  were  among  the  first  to  receive  invitations, 
and  though  Gorman  did  not  often  go  anywhere  with 
his  wife,  save  to  church,  he  made  an  exception  in  this 
important  case. 

The  time  was  in  the  middle  eighties,  when  American 
society,  as  typified  by  its  New  York  representatives, 
was  undergoing  a  change.  A  half  century  before,  Mrs. 
Trollope  had  compared  America  with  a  bride,  the  hus- 
band being  Independence,  for  whom  alone  she  had  eyes. 
But  the  country  now  had  eyes  for  other  things  than 
independence.  It  was  even  a  mark  of  distinction  in 
society  to  know  the  names  and  histories  of  the  various 
pretenders  to  the  French  throne,  although  thrones 
were  no  longer  the  fashion  in  France  itself. 

These  were  the  days  when  the  overflowing  abund- 
ance of  wealth  had  left  the  lower  avenues  and  was 
showing  itself  uptown.  Manhattan  Island,  below  the 
point  where  the  Harlem  River  empties  into  the  Sound, 
is  shaped  like  a  boot  with  not  much  of  a  heel,  and  a 
tiny,  sharp-pointed  toe.  From  a  map  one  gets  the 
impression  that  in  this  boot  the  State  of  New  York 
is  walking  toward  New  Jersey,  having  used  Long 
Island  as  a  stepping  stone.  Until  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  the  main  part  of  the  city  was  in  the 
toe  of  this  boot.  It  was  still  there  when  Gorman,  as  a 
country  youth,  arriving  on  a  midnight  train  from  New 
England,  beheld  from  afar  the  brilliant  gas-lighted 
streets  and  the  glittering  horse  cars,  and  felt  himself 
to  be  in  an  enchanted  city  full  of  wonders  and  of 
riches. 

At  that  time  society  was  yet  partly  entrenched  in 
the  dark  corners  of  Pearl  street,  Hanover  Square  and 
Exchange  Place,  and  Battery  Park  was  the  favorite 
promenade,  though  social  advance  guards  had  begun 


THE  AMERICAN   EMPEROR  79 

to  invade  Cedar  street,  Maiden  Lane  and  John  street, 
and  the  handsomer  thoroughfare  called  Liberty  street. 
But  now  society  had  abandoned  that  section  to  business 
and  to  tenements  for  the  poor,  and  was  establishing 
itself  in  the  wider  reaches  of  Fifth  avenue  and  Broad- 
way to  the  north  and  west.  A  few  fine  residences  had 
been  built  as  far  north  as  Central  Park,  though  on 
the  Harlem  Heights  nearby  humble  shanties  yet 
housed  the  poor,  and  Irishmen's  goats  browsed  upon 
scanty  vegetation  among  tin  cans  and  signboards,  fur- 
nishing ideas  for  illustrated  jokes  to  the  comic  weeklies 
just  then  blossoming  into  vari-colored  existence. 

Brownstone  mansions  with  narrow  lawns  guarded  by 
iron  pickets  were  succeeding  the  colonial  dwellings 
that  had  been  set  in  the  midst  of  spacious  greenswards 
and  surrounded  by  wooden  palings.  And  pavements 
of  asphalt  were  being  laid  instead  of  the  cobblestones 
and  cedar  blocks  of  older  days.  Electric  lights  were 
displacing  gas,  and  underground  cables  and  overhead 
trolleys  were  propelling  cars  in  many  streets  in  lieu  of 
horses,  and  elevated  trains  were  running  by  steam 
power  on  steel  trestles  over  some  of  the  business  thor- 
oughfares. At  this  time,  too,  the  telephone  was  com- 
ing into  general  use. 

And  the  era  of  great  fortunes  had  begun — fortunes 
of  fifty  to  one  hundred  million  dollars,  and  there  had 
set  in  the  worship  of  the  owners  of  these  fortunes  by 
the  masses  whose  eyes,  dazzled  by  the  increasing  bril- 
liance of  the  new  society,  could  not  see  clearly  how 
these  sums  had  been  accumulated.  This  decade  saw 
the  beginning  of  lavish  donations  to  libraries  and  uni- 
versities, and  the  erection  of  a  great  art  gallery,  and 
of  a  grand  opera  house,  where  the  costliest  produc- 
tions in  the  world  were  given.     It  was  the  time,  too, 


80  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

when  numerous  of  the  new  possessors  of  wealth  began 
to  show  their  contempt  for  mere  money  by  bizarre 
entertainments,  at  some  of  which  a  single  night's  fun 
would  cost  many  thousands  of  dollars.  At  several 
affairs  the  hosts  had  been  known  to  pelt  their  guests 
with  paper  wads  which,  upon  being  opened,  were  found 
to  be  fifty-  or  hundred-dollar  bills.  And  yet  famous 
foreign  visitors,  after  being  entertained  by  this  society, 
usually  went  home  to  say,  "Broadly  speaking,  there  is 
no  culture  in  America." 

New  York  had  become  the  third  city  of  Christen- 
dom in  size,  and  was  aspiring  to  exceed  Paris  and  rival 
London  itself.  The  first  "skyscrapers"  were  rising  to 
twenty  stories  or  more  in  height,  and  the  largest  hotels 
in  the  world  were  being  built.  The  Brooklyn  Bridge, 
a  titanic  connecting  link  of  steel,  had  been  flung,  pier- 
less,  across  the  waters  of  the  bay  to  bind  Brooklyn  yet 
closer  to  Manhattan. 

The  city  was  being  aided  to  greatness  by  all  of 
Europe.  It  had  ceased  to  be  a  city  of  Americans,  and 
had  become  the  polyglot  commercial  capital  of  the  new 
world.  Already  its  foreign-born  population  was  more 
than  half,  and  by  the  end  of  the  century  was  to  become 
three-fourths  of  its  total.  New  York  had  first  been 
Dutch,  and  then  it  became  British.  After  the  war  of 
the  Revolution  Americanized  it,  the  Irish  had  flocked 
there.  Following  the  revolutionary  troubles  of  the 
forties  in  Germany  and  Austria,  the  Teutons  came,  and 
after  Bismarck's  repression  of  democratic  tendencies 
in  the  new  German  empire,  came  more  Teutons.  The 
Irish  continued  to  come.  And  now  the  Russian  Jews, 
and  immigrants  from  Poland  and  from  Hungary,  Aus- 
tria, Italy  and  elsewhere  in  southern  Europe  were  fill- 
ing its  tenements,  and  by  their  votes  were  helping  to 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  81 

decide  its  destiny — generally  as  ordered  by  political 
bosses.  Already  the  city  contained,  including  the 
boroughs  it  was  soon  to  annex,  more  Germans  than 
Hamburg,  more  Irish  than  Dublin,  more  Italians  than 
Venice,  more  Poles  than  Posen,  and  more  Jews  than 
Jerusalem  ever  knew.  It  had  newspapers  published  in 
ten  languages. 

The  Statue  of  Liberty  had  been  completed,  and 
nightly  the  harbor's  approach  was  lit  up  by  the  gigantic 
torch  which  she  held  aloft.  This  statue  was  the  gift  of 
the  people  of  France  to  the  people  of  America,  a  tribute 
of  esteem  from  one  republic  to  another.  And  it,  as  well 
as  the  other  most  notable  feature  of  the  harbor,  the 
suspension  bridge,  was  designed  and  built  by  foreign 
talent.  The  statue  was  the  work  of  a  Frenchman, 
Bartholdi,  and  the  bridge,  of  Germans,  the  Roeblings. 

But  while  its  population  was  mostly  foreign,  New 
York's  representative  society  was  still  American.  And 
in  increasing  numbers  the  members  of  this  society 
were  traveling  abroad  and  discovering  that  the  old 
world  had  much  to  teach.  Smart  foreign  frocks  were 
to  be  seen  with  growing  frequency  upon  modish  folk, 
and  many  foreign-made  traps  joined  in  the  regular 
Sunday  procession  in  Central  Park.  It  was  even  said 
that  some  of  the  bangs  and  bustles  then  in  vogue  had 
been  imported  by  their  fair  wearers. 

Greater  numbers  of  French  maids  were  seen  wheel- 
ing baby  carriages,  and  French  governesses  were  in- 
stalled in  many  homes.  English  butlers  were  seen  in 
numerous  households.  (American  butlers  were  not 
respectful  enough).  There  was  no  longer  a  hired 
girl  in  any  rich  family.  All  feminine  servants  were 
maids.  Dressmakers  were  modistes,  cooks  were  chefs, 
not  a  few  country  estates  had  become  chateaus,  and  in- 


82  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

ternational  marriages  were  alliances.  To  wed  for  the 
sake  of  money  or  position  was  to  make  a  marriage  de 
convenance.  A  marriage  beneath  one's  station  was  a 
mesalliance.  Boulanger's  March  was  being  played  in 
streets  and  music  halls.  Opera  bouffe  was  the  favorite 
kind  of  play. 

Opera  bouffe  was  the  favorite,  that  is,  at  this  particu- 
lar period,  but  there  was  another  kind  of  play  that, 
through  decade  after  decade,  proved  the  best  drawing 
card  in  American  theatres.  That  was  the  kind  in  which 
royal  and  other  titled  characters  trod  the  boards, 
whether  Shakespeare  or  some  one  else  was  the  author. 
And  perhaps  opera  bouffe  owed  much  of  its  popularity 
to  the  fact  that  besides  its  picturesqueness  and  tune- 
fulness it  so  often  portrayed  regal  joys  and  sorrows 
and  regal  splendors.  "The  American  people  like 
kings,"  said  Edwin  Booth,  then  in  his  prime,  and 
kingly  characters  he  mostly  portrayed  for  them. 

This  was  the  time  when  steam  yachts  and  private 
railway  cars  came  into  fashion,  and  when  regal  names 
were  applied  to  them  so  profusely,  as  well  as  to  the 
"palace  sleeping  cars"  that  were  for  hire  to  the  multi- 
tude. Both  on  and  off  the  stage  the  word  "palace" 
was  strangely  popular  in  the  American  vocabulary. 

It  was  the  time  when  society  notes  in  weeklies  like 
the  Town  Tatler  began  to  be  illuminated  with  notes 
like  the  following: 

"Lady  Cecil  Sapcappe,  of  Mouldage  Hall,  formerly 
Maude  Lawleson,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peter  Lawle- 
son,  of  the  Inter-State  Railway  system,  has  just  presented 
her  husband,  Baron  Sapcappe,  with  a  son  and  heir  to  the 
barony.  The  little  chap  is  distantly  related  to  the  Marquis 
of  Drakenham,  who  is  devoted  to  Princess  Maude,  a 
niece  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  though  his  devotion  is  said 
to  be  hopeless,  as  reasons  of  state  forbid  the  union.  How- 
ever,  should  the  marriage  ever  take  place,  an  American 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  83 

family  would  be  connected  with  British  royalty,  though 
quite  distantly,  it  is  true.  Lady  Sapcappe  was  the  wife  of 
H.  Suffern  Moses,  the  tobacco  king.  Since  her  divorce 
and  remarriage,  she  has  never  vistcd  her  childhood  home, 
having  severed  all  her  American  ties.  Mr.  Moses,  after  a 
brief  period  of  grass  widowerhood,  married  Mrs.  George  W. 
Hoopson,  nee  Harriet  Jones,  of  the  distillery  family  of 
Brooklyn.  There  is  a  son  who  was  the  offspring  of  the 
Moses-Lawleson  union,  and  he  is  being  brought  up  by 
his  grandparents  on  his  father's  side.  His  mother  thought 
of  adopting  him,  but  was  dissuaded  by  her  British  rela- 
tives. She  was  enabled  to  make  so  brilliant  a  match  after 
her  divorce  by  reason  of  the  million  and  a  half  settled  on 
her  by  her  first  husband  at  the  time  of  her  marriage  to 
him,  and  also,  perhaps,  because  of  the  million  in  her  own 
right  inherited  from  her  father,  the  late  railroad  king." 

English  lords  and  French  counts  were  still  the  ob- 
jects of  ridicule  in  many  American-made  plays.  But 
these  plays  were  ephemeral.  Their  very  names  are 
now  for  the  most  part  forgotten.  And  even  while 
titled  persons  were  objects  of  ridicule  on  the  stage  they 
had  begun  to  be  objects  of  pursuit  by  American  social 
leaders.  Already  more  than  a  score  of  alliances  like 
the  one  impending  between  Helen  Dawson  and  the 
Count  of  Dalcerand  had  turned  the  attention  of  think- 
ers to  this  peculiar  phase  of  American  life. 

One  of  these  alliances  was  between  the  daughter  of 
an  ex-President  and  a  moneyless  Russian  Prince.  "Un- 
American  and  disgraceful,"  said  countless  critics.  Had 
the  marriage  taken  place  before  her  father's  last  race 
for  the  presidency,  it  would  doubtless  have  meant  his 
defeat.  But  he  had  been  elected  twice,  and  two  terms 
were  the  limit  to  such  honors.  The  daughter,  seeing 
that  there  was  to  be  for  her  family  no  more  of  that 
temporary  kind  of  glory,  sought  the  more  lasting  emi- 
nence of  an  inherited  title,  and  having  obtained  it, 
laughed  at  her  critics. 

Helen  Dawson's  father  had  been  Vice-President  be- 


84  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

fore  he  became  Governor,  thus  reversing  the  usual 
order.  He  was  now  very  wealthy  and  quite  old,  and 
his  political  ambitions  had  been  fully  satisfied.  There- 
fore, his  daughter  did  not  wait  for  his  term  of  office  to 
end  before  espousing  a  title.  And  that  two  out  of 
three  of  such  marriages  had  ended  unhappily  did  not 
deter  either  herself  or  her  parents. 


CHAPTER    II 

A  DISCUSSION   OF   HERALDRY 

The  dining  room  was  done  in  the  style  of  Louis  XV. 
A  large  screen  in  five  sections,  on  which  were  painted 
portraits  of  ladies  of  the  French  court,  concealed  the 
doorway  which  the  uniformed  lackeys  used  in  passing 
to  and  from  the  kitchens. 

"Isn't  it  perfectly  gorgeous — reminds  me  of  my 
week  in  Versailles,"  said  Mrs.  Rhinelander  Hudson 
to  Mrs.  Stelson  Parans. 

"Certainement,"  replied  Mrs.  Parans,  who  had  been 
studying  French  with  the  private  tutor  who  was  teach- 
ing her  children.  "Mr.  Dawson,"  she  added,  "im- 
ported the  architects  who  designed  this  house  and  his 
country  chateau." 

"Made  most  of  his  money  in  railroads,  didn't  he?" 
one  of  the  masculine  guests  at  the  next  table  was  ask- 
ing another  at  this  moment. 

"That,  and  the  big  bond  deal  he  and  Gorman  pulled 
off  together  about  ten  years  ago,"  was  the  response. 
"He  did  pretty  well  in  telephone  stock  recently,  too," 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  85 

was  added.  "When  you're  in  the  Governor's  office, 
a  lot  of  good  things  are  apt  to  come  your  way." 

"What  a  rise  he's  made  in  his  lifetime!"  continued 
the  other.  "Before  the  war  he  was  a  clerk  in  Boston 
at  a  few  dollars  a  week.    How  did  he  get  his  start?" 

"Army  contracts.  And  now  his  railroads  hire  more 
men  than  the  United  States  army  and  navy  together 
can  muster,  though  he  never  smelled  powder." 

"Well,  did  any  one  in  this  whole  crowd  ever  smell 
powder,  or  face  a  cannon  ?" 

"Yes ;  there's  General  Peckham  down  the  line  there, 
the  man  with  the  gray  beard,  seated  next  to  that 
pretty  blonde,  who  is  his  daughter.  But  he  wouldn't 
be  here  if  Gorman  and  Dawson  didn't  want  him  to 
head  their  new  telephone  combination.  You  see, 
they're  doing  what  Gluten  did  after  he  captured  the 
telegraphs — getting  a  general  with  a  war  record  to 
give  respectability  and  prestige  to  their  concern." 

"How  much  is  he  worth?" 

"Who,  Dawson?  About  thirty  millions,  I  should 
say." 

"Whew !  He  ought  to  be  able  to  buy  a  title.  I 
wonder  how  much  he's  settling  on  the  bride?" 

"Thirty-five  thousand  a  year,  I  understand.  My 
valet  tells  me — he  gets  it  from  the  valet  that  came  over 
from  England  with  Dawson's  man — that  Dalcerand 
wanted  fifty  thousand:  said  it  would  be  worth  that  to 
be  ridiculed  by  continental  society." 

"Ha!  Ha!    What  did  Dawson  say  to  that?" 

"Told  him  he  would  be  hanged  if  he  gave  him 
another  cent.  Said  he  could  get  a  German  Baron  for 
the  same  money,  and  that  titles  were  good  in  Ger- 
many.    Finally,  the  Count  agreed  to  his  figure." 

"Well,  I  hope,  for  the  bride's  sake,  that  he  won't  put 


86  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

the  screws  on  the  old  man  at  the  altar  like  that  English 
Earl  did  to  a  Pittsburgh  family." 

"How  was  that?  So  many  of  these  things  happen 
that  I  can't  keep  up  with  the  news." 

"Why,  the  Earl  of  Balmoncton  married  that  girl  out 
of  the  big  steel  family — Ethel  Brickley.  He  at  first 
asked  more  than  they  would  agree  to,  but  then  said 
he'd  take  her  with  twenty  thousand  a  year,  and  a  hun- 
dred thousand  extra  in  advance.  Preparations  for  the 
wedding  went  ahead,  but  at  the  last  minute,  when  all 
the  guests  were  in  the  church,  the  Earl  got  the  girl's 
father  in  a  corner  and  told  him  flat-footed  that  he  must 
raise  the  bid.  The  bride  was  waiting  in  an  ante-room, 
and  when  she  heard  of  the  situation  she  begged  the 
old  man  to  yield  to  save  the  family's  face.  Finally, 
her  tears  and  pleadings,  added  to  those  of  her  mother, 
prevailed,  and  the  old  man  gave  in  to  avoid  a  terrible 
scandal.  But  the  poor  countess  wishes  by  this  time 
that  she  had  never  met  him,  so  I'm  told  by  young 
Herbert  De  Blick,  who's  just  got  back  from  the  other 
side.  It's  less  than  a  year  since  her  marriage,  and 
she's  suing  for  divorce.  The  Earl,  it  seemed,  had  the 
lowest  tastes,  and  from  the  first  he  neglected  her  for 
other  women.  They  say  a  committee  of  matrons  will 
be  appointed  by  the  court  for  the  purpose  of  ascertain- 
ing if  what  she  says  is  true :  that  she  has  never  been 
his  wife  except  in  name." 

At  this  moment  an  orchestra  concealed  behind  palms 
started  "I  Dreamt  That  I  Dwelt  in  Marble  Halls." 
The  bride-to-be  was  at  the  head  of  the  middle  table 
with  her  fiance,  and  as  the  music  began  she  gazed  at 
him  with  an  expression  of  pride  and  rapture. 

"How  pretty  she  looks,"  a  woman  remarked  to  her 
husband. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  87 

"And  he's  so  anemic  looking,"  replied  the  husband, 
a  coal  mine  owner.     "He's  no  fit  match  for  her." 

"But  just  think — he  is  in  line  of  succession  to  the 
Bourbon  dynasty,"  said  the  wife,  who  had  been  read- 
ing up  on  French  history,  and  had  acquired  some 
phrases  to  fit  this  occasion. 

"Pretty  far  down  the  line,  I'm  afraid.  I  don't  want 
to  cast  reflections  on  anyone,  for  Dawson's  not  a  bad 
sort;  but  if  there  wasn't  between  fifty  and  a  hundred 
lives  between  this  count  and  a  bare  chance  to  claim 
the  throne,  he  wouldn't  be  marrying  on  this  side  of  the 
pond,  bad  as  he  needs  the  money." 

"But  he  has  a  lovely  chateau  near  Chantilly,  or  some 
such  romantic  place,  where  the  terrors  of  the  revolu- 
tion never " 

"Plastered  with  mortgages,"  he  put  in,  giving  her 
no  chance  to  perorate.  "That's  why  he  came  over 
here.  He  brought  a  picture  of  the  castle  along  as  a 
bait." 

"Oh,  Hiram,  don't  be  so  utterly  critical,"  she  pro- 
tested. "His  title  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  France,  any- 
how." 

"How  do  you  know?" 

"The  De  Blicks  hired  their  expert  genealogist  to  look 
it  up.  Why,  it's  in  the  Almanach  de  Gotha,"  she 
added,  triumphantly. 

"I  wonder  if  the  De  Blicks  got  their  expert  genealo- 
gist to  buy  their  pictures  for  them  on  their  last  foreign 
trip?"  he  returned,  unabashed.  "I  heard  down  in 
Wall  street  the  other  day  that  their  Corots  and  Dau- 
binnies — or  Daub-something,  I  can't  remember  all 
these  foreign  painters'  names — were  mostly  forgeries. 
They  say  Americans  are  easy  pickin'  in  Paris  art 
stores.     I'm  goin'  to  keep  away  from  them  when  I  go 


88  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

over.  I  hear  the  De  Blicks  are  anxious  for  titles  in 
their  family.  I  hope  they'll  come  out  better  in  that 
line." 

Their  conversation  was  interrupted  by  the  singing 
of  an  Italian  tenor.  "Cost  five  hundred  to  get  two 
songs  by  that  opera  singer — Dawson  told  me  so  him- 
self," whispered  the  coal  mine  owner. 

There  were  cries  of  "Encore?"  "Voilat"  and 
"Bravo  I"  when  the  song  ended. 

"They  say  the  oil  people  are  coming  into  Wall 
street,"  remarked  a  man  to  his  neighbor.  "I  should 
think  they'd  be  satisfied  with  what  they've  made  in 
Pennsylvania,  by  rebates  and  such  things.  They're 
an  awfully  rich  crowd,  if  they  are  greasy." 

"Yes,  but  the  Wall  street  pickings  are  apt  to  be 
richer  than  anything.  What  the  railroads  have  done 
in  manipulation,  promoters  in  sugar  and  oil  and  other 
things  can  do,  too,  so  long  as  there's  no  regulation. 
Have  you  met  the  new  'Oil  King,'  as  every  one  calls 
him?" 

"No;  they  say  he  and  his  family  are  not  being  re- 
ceived yet.  But  I  suppose  they'll  break  in  soon. 
Between  you  and  me,  there  are  very  few  families  here 
to-night  that  were  heard  of  twenty  years  ago,  and  if 
they  were  let  in,  why  shouldn't  such  a  bunch  of  money 
as  the  oil  crowd  have  got  be  given  a  chance  to  spread 
around  ?" 

"You're  right.  And  they  have  begun  to  spend,  all 
right.  That  was  a  swell  dinner  they  gave  that  fake 
Lord  Harrington  at  Delmonico's.  Why,  it  cost  twelve 
thousand,  and  it  lasted  four  hours.  That's  at  the  rate 
of  fifty  dollars  a  minute.  They  had  real  trees  and  a 
greensward,   and  live  lambs   bleating  about.     Foun- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  89 

tains  played  in  the  centre  of  the  table,  and  gold  fish 
swam  for  crumbs  that  the  guests  threw  in." 

"Think  of  all  that  money  wasted  on  a  fake  noble- 
man !" 

"Yes,  but  it  gave  the  Gotells  such  a  reputation  that 
they  attracted  a  real  marquis,  and  now  they're  repre- 
sented among  the  British  nobility." 

Seated  at  the  main  table  was  the  most  select  com- 
pany. Titled  persons,  or  relatives  of  such,  and  those 
whose  families  had  possessed  wealth  for  more  than 
a  generation  were  there.  And  the  conversation  was 
of  a  higher  order  than  at  the  other  tables.  No  reflec- 
tions were  made  upon  the  nobility  of  any  country,  and 
nothing  was  being  said  about  such  things  as  dowries 
and  mortgages.  Reminiscences  of  meetings  with  titled 
persons,  the  scenery  of  England  in  summer  and  of  the 
Alps  in  winter,  the  health  of  the  British  royal  family, 
heraldry,  French  fashions,  German  watering  places, 
and  kindred  things  were  being  talked  about. 

Heraldry  had  become  the  specialty  of  young  Herbert 
De  Blick,  and  he  was  gratified  by  the  attention 
attracted  by  his  conversation  with  the  Count  of  Dal- 
cerand.  He  seemed  to  know  even  more  than  the 
Count  about  the  origin  of  many  armorial  bearings. 

"Ha! — you  are  vairee — what  you  call  expert,"  said 
the  Count.  "Now,  I  do  not  study  thees,  except  of  m« 
own  famil-lee." 

"What  I  want  to  know  is,  what  does  'or'  mean?" 
asked  a  young  woman. 

"  'Or'  means  gold,"  replied  De  Blick.  "In  engrav- 
ing it  is  denoted  by  small  dots  or  points  spread  all  over 
the  bearing.  'A  lion  couchant  on  or'  means  a  lion 
lying  down  on  a  field  of  gold.  Much  of  history  is 
explained  by  heraldry.     For  instance,  take  the  title  of 


go  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

the  French  crown  prince  under  the  old  monarchy.  He 
was  called  the  Dauphin.  Now,  dauphin  mean  dolphin, 
does  it  not,  Count  ?" 

"Yes,"  replied  the  Count,  pulling  at  his  thin  black 
mustache,  and  smiling  inscrutably. 

"It  was  the  crest  of  the  lords  of  Vienne,"  continued 
De  Blick.  "It  arose  from  the  circumstance  that  Hum- 
bert the  Second,  of  Vienne,  in  the  ninth  century,  be- 
queathed his  lordship  as  an  appanage  to  the  French 
throne  on  condition  that  the  eldest  son  of  the  monarch 
should  always  bear  the  title  of  Dauphin  of  Viennois." 

"And  what  does  'gules'  mean?"  asked  the  young 
woman. 

"  'Gules'  means  red,  or  the  color  of  blood.    It  is " 

At  that  instant  a  clamor  arose  in  the  street,  drowning 
the  voices  of  the  gay  company  within.  And  soon, 
above  the  din,  was  heard  the  shrill  treble  of  a  news- 
boy, crying:  "Extry!  'Nother  accident  at  the  Noo 
York  Midland  crossing !  Five  people  killed !  All  about 
it!" 

"They  kill  a  dozen  or  more  there  every  year,"  re- 
marked a  guest  at  one  of  the  minor  tables.  "If  the 
city  would  only  make  the  road  raise  its  tracks,  as  is 
done  in  cities  throughout  Europe,  those  accidents 
couldn't  happen.  But  the  De  Blicks  have  too  much 
influence  in  politics." 

"Wouldn't  they  save  money  by  doing  it?" 

"No.  That's  why  they  won't  do  it.  It  would  cost 
a  million  or  more,  while  damage  suits  don't  bother 
the  road  much,  with  its  clever  legal  staff,  and  its  con- 
trol of  judges.  Altogether,  three  hundred  people  have 
been  killed  there  since  the  war,  and  hundreds  more 
seem  doomed  in  the  next  dozen  vears  or  less,  since  the 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  91 

population   is   growing   so   fast.      Frightful,   isn't  it? 
The  street  has  been  nicknamed  Skeleton  avenue." 


CHAPTER    III 
"the  whipped  dog  fears  the  lash" 

Gorman  and  his  wife  were  among  the  last  to  leave 
the  party.  Most  social  affairs  bored  him,  and  yet  on 
this  occasion  he  had  been  interested  throughout  the 
evening. 

When  they  had  returned  to  their  own  mansion,  a  few 
doors  north  of  the  Dawsons'  in  Fifth  avenue,  he  asked, 
"How  old  is  Theodora?" 

"Just  sixteen,  Clay.  Why?"  she  added,  though  she 
felt  intuitively  the  reason  for  his  query. 

"I  suppose  she'll  be  coming  out  soon,  eh?" 

"Yes,  next  spring." 

"We'd  better  take  her  abroad  right  afterward.  The 
sooner  she  mingles  in  good  society,  the  better." 

"You  mean  the  titled  kind?" 

"Well,  yes,  generally  speaking,  but  there  are  some 
over  there  who  have  no  titles  and  yet  are  the  right 
sort." 

"But  you  mean  you  want  a  title  for  Theodora?" 

"I  think  it  would  be  advisable." 

"But " 

"We  can  afford  anything  in  that  line  to  be  had,  and 
a  title's  the  thing  now  in  the  eyes  of  our  society,  as  it 
was  bound  to  be  from  the  beginning." 

"But,  Clay,  if  her  happiness  is  to  be  considered, 


92  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

hadn't  we  better  wait  and  see  whether  she  falls  in  love  ? 
Without  love " 

"Forget  that,  and  listen  to  reason  for  a  while." 

She  sat  down,  and  pulled  her  opera  cloak  more 
closely  about  her  shoulders.  It  was  a  warm  October 
night,  but,  suddenly,  she  felt  cold.  The  mild  breezes 
whistling  without  seemed  to  be  wintry  blasts  that 
sought  to  penetrate  her  heart.  For  the  past  decade  she 
had  looked  older  than  he,  though  she  was  four  years 
younger;  and  now,  at  forty-two,  her  hair  was  mostly 
gray,  and  there  were  many  lines  about  her  large,  dark 
eyes,  which  held  an  expression  of  settled  melancholy. 
She  had  lost  all  taste  for  society,  and  had  gone  to  this 
function  to-night  in  the  line  of  duty  rather  than  as 
a  seeker  for  pleasure.  Denied  her  husband's  com- 
panionship in  almost  everything  save  religious  affairs, 
she  saw  less  and  less  of  society,  and  lived  more  and 
more  within  herself,  lavishing  upon  her  two  children  a 
wealth  of  love  which  had  no  other  outlet. 

And  now  ambition,  which  had  robbed  her  of  so 
much,  was  about  to  sacrifice  the  darling  of  her  heart 
upon  the  altar  of  social  prestige.  Her  son's  future  she 
had  not  hoped  to  decide.  He  was  finishing  his  educa- 
tion at  Heidelberg,  and  would  doubtless  be  trained 
to  succeed  his  father.  But  for  Theodora,  who  was 
barely  out  of  short  frocks,  she  had  been  dreaming  of 
years  of  girlhood  yet  to  come,  and  then  a  happy  mar- 
riage, and  a  quiet  life  near  herself  afterward.  Why, 
Theodora  still  had  a  year  to  spend  at  school,  and  was 
such  a  child. 

He  paced  up  and  down  before  her  while  he  talked, 
speaking  at  her  rather  than  to  her,  and  emphasizing 
his  words  by  waving  his  arms,  and  by  an  occasional 
pause  to  stamp  his  foot.    Sometimes  he  leaned  against 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  93 

the  grand  piano,  the  top  of  which  was  decorated  by  a 
painting  of  nymphs  at  play.  The  shining  front  of  his 
dress  shirt  was  not  more  smooth  than  his  bald  fore- 
head and  the  crown  of  his  pate,  though  about  midway 
of  these  two  points  there  still  flourished  a  tuft  of  hair. 
One  of  his  most  fervent  hopes  was  that  this  tuft  would 
grow  larger.  Instead,  it  diminished  from  year  to  year, 
in  spite  of  the  application  of  many  patent  hair  lotions. 
At  first  he  would  have  given  a  thousand  dollars  to  be 
able  to  restore  each  hair  that  fell  out.  Then  he  would 
have  paid  two  thousand,  then  three,  then  four,  then 
five  thousand  per  hair.  Later  he  felt  ready  to  barter 
an  entire  railroad  system  for  half  as  many  hairs  as 
he  possessed  at  twenty  years  of  age.  But  the  more 
he  worried  about  it  the  fewer  hairs  he  had.  In  des- 
peration, he  finally  thought,  "I  would  give  half  my 
fortune  for  a  crop  of  genuine  hirsute  beauty  upon  my 
head."  As  he  had  inherited  his  uncle's  thirty  mil- 
lions, and  now  was  the  master  of  at  least  thirty  more 
millions  besides,  the  strength  of  his  desire  can  be  appre- 
ciated by  those  of  avaricious  minds.  But  still  the 
hairs  became  fewer  and  fewer,  and  he  began  to  think 
of  a  wig. 

But  while  his  hair  was  sickly,  his  body  was  not. 
He  was  yet  in  the  prime  of  physical  vigor,  and  his 
brain  was  busier  than  ever  with  his  schemes  of  domin- 
ion. His  form  had  grown  thicker,  and  his  appearance 
now,  he  liked  to  think,  was  about  that  of  Napoleon 
at  his  age,  except  that  he  was  taller  than  the  Emperor. 
And  he  rejoiced  that  he  still  had  enough  hair  to  form 
a  forelock,  which  he  draped  over  his  forehead.  In  a 
photograph  artistically  posed,  with  his  head  held  high, 
the  bare  crown  was  not  discernible.  It  was  at  this 
crisis  mat,  fearing  his  forelock  would  soon  vanish,  he 


94  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

imported  an  artist  who  preserved  it  on  canvas.  That 
portrait  was  afterward  presented  to  the  new  American 
Museum  of  Art,  along  with  other  treasures  with  which 
he  enriched  its  galleries. 

"You  read  too  many  love  stories,  and  not  enough 
history  or  philosophy,"  he  said  to  his  wife. 

"No,"  she  replied,  in  a  low  voice,  but  without  meek- 
ness, "I  seldom  even  glance  at  romances  nowadays, 
and  I  do  read  some  philosophy." 

"Whose?" 

"Well,  Ruskin's,  for  one.  I  think  he  and  some  other 
literary  men  whom  I  could  name  are  among  the  truly 
great  of  the  earth." 

He  sneered.  "There  was  a  famous  Frenchman — or, 
rather,  he  was  an  Italian  born  in  Corsica,  and  he  made 
France  great — and  he  said  of  literary  men  that  they 
were  mere  manufacturers  of  phrases.  I  think  he  was 
about  right.    But  what  of  Ruskin?" 

"I  believe  in  his  philosophy  of  the  creation  of  beau- 
tiful things,  just  for  the  love  of  creating.  I  have  given 
much  toward  a  society  which  is  trying  to  carry  out  his 
ideas." 

"Ruskin  is  a  doddering  old  fool  who  doesn't  under- 
stand the  humanity  he  talks  of  benefiting.  Read  Scho- 
penhauer and  Nietzsche." 

"They  are  so  depressing." 

"That's  the  way  with  most  women.  They  don't  like 
the  truth  unless  it  tickles  them.  But  enough  of  philos- 
ophy. Let's  get  down  to  present  day  facts.  I  want  a 
title  for  Theodora,  and  it's  got  to  be  a  good  one.  It's 
got  to  be  respected  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic, 
matching  in  social  prestige  the  money  prestige  I  have 
won.     My  son  will  hand  down  my  name  in  America, 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  95 

and  my   daughter  shall   do  her   part   for  the   family 
abroad." 

"Why  shouldn't  you  seek  political  honors  now, 
Clay?  To  be  a  Senator  is  quite  an  honor.  I'm  sure 
you  have  the  ability.     You  might  be  a  great  orator 

like  Senator  Roslin,  who " 

"He  is  my  lackey.  I  can  buy  political  orators  like 
him  by  the  dozen.  As  I  have  said  before,  no  political 
honors  for  me." 

"Not  even  if  you  could  be  President?" 
"Bah!  A  cheaply  paid  glory  that  ends  about  as 
soon  as  it  begins.  Who  can  remember  even  the  names 
of  the  Presidents?  The  one  we've  got  now  has  to 
take  orders  from  me  and  my  friends.  I  want  a  title  in 
my  family  that's  above  political  changes,  just  as  the 
power  of  money  is  above  it." 

"Good  Americans  don't  respect  a  foreign  title." 
"They  don't?    That's  about  the  only  kind  they  do 
respect  for  long.    No,  you're  right    They  don't  respect 
titles — they  worship  them." 
"Not  good  Americans." 

"Yes,  all  Americans,  from  the  rabble  in  the  tene- 
ments to  the  Fifth  avenue  crowd.  We  must  believe 
what  we  see.  What  I  saw  one  day  last  summer  was 
enough  for  me,  even  if  I  had  never  seen  other  things 
like  it.  Why,  my  carriage  couldn't  get  through  the 
mob  in  front  of  the  church  where  the  Schuyler-Ban- 
glesby  wedding  took  place.  They  had  two  hundred 
police  to  keep  'em  back,  and  heads  were  broken  and 
clothes  torn  and  children  trampled  on  in  the  rush  to 
get  a  sight  at  the  Marquis  of  Banglesby.  I  saw  women 
dressed  in  the  height  of  fashion  who  shed  tears  because 
they  couldn't  get  into  the  church." 


96  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

"The  people  should  be  taught  the  folly  of  such 
things." 

"  'The  people  should  be  taught.'  Don't  you  know 
there  are  some  things  the  people  can't  be  taught,  be- 
cause they  won't  be  ?  The  whipped  dog  fears  the  lash." 

"But,  Clay " 

"The  whipped  dog  fears  the  lash,  and  loves  the  hand 
that  beats  him,  once  he  has  recognized  his  master.  The 
average  man,  I  tell  you,  is  a  serf,  and  America  is 
peopled  by  average  men,  and  is  now  filling  up  with  less 
than  the  average  kind.  The  theory  of  atavism  is  being 
proved  by  our  mob's  slavish  tendencies.  The  mob 
always  adores  those  by  whom  it  is  most  masterfully 
ruled  and  despised,  and " 

"Despoiled  ?" 

"Well,  yes — despoiled.  The  people  need  to  be  over- 
ridden and  made  to  work  for  their  rulers." 

"Ah,  but  think  of  the  progress  from  past  ages. 
Think  of  what  has  been  done." 

"I  see  what  is  being  done.  In  the  last  six  or  eight 
years  the  fortunes  that  have  been  allied  to  old  world 
titles  have  totaled  more  than  the  debt  of  the  American 
colonies  after  the  eight  years  of  the  Revolutionary 
War." 

"But  we  are  a  richer  nation " 

"That  is  not  all.  It  is  but  a  fragment.  The  Ameri- 
can people  are  now  paying  interest  on  near  two  billions 
of  railway  stocks  and  bonds  held  by  aristocratic  for- 
eigners. So  you  see  what's  happening  to  the  ^eople  of 
a  republic  that  decided  to  have  no  aristocracy,  no 
caste,  no  titles." 

"You  overwhelm  me  with  your  facts,  Clay,  but  you 
do  not  convince  me  that  we  would  be  happier  with  a 
title  for  Theodora/' 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  97 

"Our  international  social  position  would  be  assured 
by  it." 

"Must  we  have  a  place  in  international  society?" 
"Must  we  have  it?  My  God,  woman,  what  is  the 
use  of  all  the  wealth  and  power  I  have  built  up,  if  it 
is  not  to  be  turned  to  any  account?  Already  I  can 
name  the  American  Minister  to  one  of  the  big  Euro- 
pean courts,  and  some  day " 

"But  we  are  growing  old." 
"I  decline  to  think  of  myself  as  aged." 
"Peace  and  quiet  are  much  to  be  preferred  to  soci- 
ety's terrible  whirl.     We  have  more  money  than  we 
can  ever  spend.    If  we  could  only  retire  to  some  nice 

little  country  place " 

"  'Some  nice  little  country  place!'  " 
Imagine  Alexander,  about  to  annex  Persia,  being 
asked  to  retire  to  some  cottage  in   the  Macedonian 
hills.     Think  of  Caesar,  having  crossed  the  Rubicon 
hearing  a  plea  from  Calpurnia  to  return  to  Rome,  give 
up  his  command,  and  settle  down  to  a  life  of  rustic 
simplicity   in   the   suburbs.      Picture   Napoleon    after 
Marengo,  requested  by  Josephine  to  become  a  wine 
grower  m  Corsica.    Conceive,  if  you  can,  of  the  scorn 
the  ridicule,  the  contempt  with  which  such  a  request 
would  have  been  received  by  any  of  these  lights  of  his- 
tory at  the  dawn  of  his  greatest  glory,  and  you  may 
understand  the  manner  in  which  Gorman  repeated  the 
words  of  his  wife. 

His  lip  curled  up,  his  nose  was  drawn  down  and  his 
entire  visage  expressed  both  disgust  and  despair-the 
kind  of  despair  one  feels  when  his  greatest  thoughts 
fall  upon  unsympathetic  ears.  And  his  voice  was  filled 
with  mockery,  with  contempt,  with  ridicule  and  with 
rage.    The  sound  he  gave  vent  to  was  at  once  a  bestial 


98  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

snarl,  a  human  sneer,  and  a  demoniacal  laugh,  and 
through  it  all  ran  the  verbal  mimicry,  the  words  of 
which  would  have  been  indistinguishable  by  anyone 
who  had  not  heard  the  original  utterance. 

At  the  same  time  there  appeared  in  the  centre  of  his 
forehead  a  strange  discoloration.  It  was  somewhat 
smaller  than  an  oak  leaf,  but  shapeless,  and  mainly 
of  a  purple  hue,  tinged  on  the  edges  with  red.  He  had 
noticed  this  mark  come  and  go  of  late  whenever  he 
became  enraged  about  anything.  Seeing  his  own  re- 
flection now  in  a  pier  glass,  he  stopped  short,  and  then 
began  silently  pacing  back  and  forth  to  calm  himself 
before  he  spoke  again.  After  a  moment  the  discolora- 
tion disappeared,  and  he  said : 

"Mrs.  Gorman,  please  listen  to  me  for  a  moment." 
Whenever  he  addressed  her  as  "Mrs.  Gorman,"  she 
knew  he  was  going  to  use  weighty  language  in  a  for- 
mal way  about  something  most  important.  But  she 
was  hardly  prepared  for  what  followed. 

"You  see  before  you,"  he  said,  "the  heir  to  North 
America." 


CHAPTER  IV 


A  DREAM  OF  EMPIRE 


Her  eyes  had  half  closed  from  weariness,  but  now 
they  opened  wide,  and  she  looked  up  at  him  with 
renewed  interest,  as  he  continued: 

"You  may  think  my  career  almost  completed,  but  I 
tell  you  it  has  just  begun.  Fifty  to  a  hundred  millions 
may  satisfy  the  ambition  of  a  De  Blick,  or  a  Gluten,  or 
a  Plaster.    But  the  money  I  have  made  is  scarcely  the 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  99 

foundation  of  the  structure  you  will  see  me  build. 
Already  my  power  is  international.  I  have  the  confi- 
dence of  a  group  of  men  who  control  thirty  per  cent, 
of  the  gold  of  all  Europe,  and  my  American  allies  are 
the  principal  monied  men  of  America. 

"I  am  even  now  the  master  spirit  in  forty  thousand 
miles  of  railway,  and  that  is  as  much,  if  not  more,  than 
France  and  Great  Britain  together  have.  With  this 
power  goes  the  political  rule  in  half  a  dozen  States. 
The  people  don't  know  this,  but  I  do,  and  that  is 
enough.  These  States  can  decide  a  Presidential  elec- 
tion when  the  contest  is  close,  and  they  will  help  me 
take  my  pick  of  the  candidates  in  the  next  campaign. 
But  these  things  are  mere  details.  The  big  fact  is, 
that  I  and  the  others  who  control  the  railways  in  the 
United  States  can}  when  we  combine  with  those  who 
control  its  money,  rule  the  country  itself.  These  rail- 
ways are  the  arteries  of  trade.  Money  is  the  life  blood 
of  trade.  The  Stock  Exchange  and  the  big  banks  form 
the  centre,  or  heart  of  all.  In  other  great  countries 
these  things  are  more  or  less  creatures  of  the  nation. 
Here,  they  are  greater  than  the  nation.  And  I  now 
have  my  grip  on  more  of  these  instruments  of  power 
than  any  other  one  man. 

"A  truly  imperial  dominion  awaits  the  man  who  can 
combine  and  then  direct  these  various  forces.  But  I 
fear  I  am  boring  you.  Like  the  majority,  you  are 
hard  to  interest  in  the  most  vital  facts.  You  like  the 
easy,  pleasant  ways  of  getting  information,  but  really 
valuable  information  is  never  pleasantly  acquired." 

"No,  Clay,"  she  replied,  patiently,  "you  interest  me 
tremendously — you  truly  do,  though  you  don't  con- 
vince me  that  we  ought  to  sacrifice  Theodora." 

"Well,  as  I  said,  imperial  power  awaits  the  man 


]CO 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 


who  can  make  himself  the  leader  of  these  forces. 
Whether  a  crown  will  go  with  this  power  or  not  will 
depend  upon  circumstances.  But  the  power  is  there, 
and  before  you  stands  the  man  who  will  some  day- 
wield  it." 

He  paused  and  regarded  her  intently  from  beneath 
the  penthouse  of  his  heavy  brows,  and  he  was  pleased 
to  see  that  she  looked  at  him  with  new  interest.  There 
was  a  wistfulness  about  her  expression  which  he  did 
not  understand.  Not  once  did  she  think  of  laughing  at 
him.  She  had  seen  him  accomplish  too  much  not  to 
believe  him  capable  of  doing  almost  anything  he  under- 
took. 

"You  think  the  Americans  won't  have  a  king  or  an 
emperor?"  he  continued.  "Yet  you  remember  how 
every  one  in  America  bowed  down  to  the  Prince  of 
Wales  in  i860.  There  were  so  many  people  in  the 
Academy  of  Music  that  the  floors  caved  in.  And  you 
saw  them  kow-tow  to  Dom  Pedro  of  Brazil  at  Phila- 
delphia. Triumphant  democracy  was  there  celebrating 
a  century  of  'self  rule.'  And  when  the  Emperor  of  an 
inferior  South  American  country  came  along,  he  was 
cheered  by  the  mobs,  and  the  old  families  that  had 
come  down  from  the  Liberty  Bell-ringing  times  fought 
for  a  chance  to  honor  him. 

"While  all  this  was  going  on,  I  was  looking  over  the 
first  models  of  the  telephone  on  exhibition  there,  and 
getting  control  of  patents  which  alone  have  brought 
me  as  large  a  revenue  as  Dom  Pedro  ever  received.  I 
combined  the  Southeastern  and  the  Northern  com- 
panies, you  remember,  doubled  their  capitalization, 
and  floated  the  stock  on  the  Exchange ;  a  million  in 
profits  right  there  by  the  handy  syndicate  way  of  doing 
things.     And   five   millions   more   have   come   to  me 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  101 

through  later  stock  issues,  and  I've  hardly  begun  with 
telephones.  I've  already  squelched  all  competition  in 
the  East." 

"Yes,  Clay,  you  are  wonderful ;  you  can  succeed  in 
everything  you  undertake,"  and  as  she  said  this  she 
was  possessed  of  a  feeling  she  dared  not  express.  "But 
how  does  this  lead  to  imperialism?" 

"In  this  way :  Those  who  own  the  property  of  a 
country,  own  the  country.  Already  one  per  cent,  of 
our  people  own  about  ninety-nine  per  cent,  of  the 
country.  And  a  Wall  street  group  of  less  than  fifty 
whom  I  could  name  can  swing  the  balance  of  power  in 
the  nation  when  they  get  together.  The  trouble  with 
them  all  is  that  they  can't  trust  each  other.  I'm  going 
to  become  known  among  them  as  the  one  man  they  can 
all  trust,  while  at  the  same  time  my  foreign  backing 
will  make  me  invincible  against  them  should  they 
oppose  me  too  strongly." 

"How  about  the  people — the  masses?" 

"Fit  only  as  food  for  cannon,  or  as  subjects  for 
exploitation.  I  tell  you  there  must  be  but  one  supreme 
head  in  any  country — and  this  must  be  a  permanent 
power  to  be  respected.  Such  is  the  lesson  of  history. 
If  I  don't  embody  that  power  in  America,  some  one 
else  will.  And  why  should  I  abdicate  when  I  am  just 
on  the  threshold  of  greatness  ?  For  whom  would  I  step 
aside?  For  some  one  who,  in  his  shortsightedness  and 
his  ignorance,  would  make  a  botch  of  things?  No,  I 
shall  not  step  aside  now.  I  shall  rule,  and  I  shall  rule 
in  every  way.  What  I  have  done  with  telephones  and 
railroads,  I  shall  do  with  telegraphs,  with  coal  and 
other  mines,  and  with  many  other  industries  besides. 
I    shall   dominate,   too,   in   art,    in   literature,   and   in 


102  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

science,  and  become  a  supreme  ruler,  in  fact  if  not  in 
name,  but  perhaps  in  name  also." 

He  continued  talking-  far  into  the  night,  outlining  the 
ways  in  which  he  would  capture  this  industry  and  that, 
and  pile  power  upon  power  until  his  very  name  should 
become  a  thing  to  be  heard  with  awe  wherever  spoken. 
And  then  other  lands  should  come  under  his  sway. 
Canada  was  to  be  annexed,  and  Mexico  and  Central 
America,  until  an  entire  continent  was  in  his  grasp, 
and  the  rest  of  the  hemisphere  looked  to  him  as  its  pro- 
tector. Then  Europe  should  beware  of  offending  him, 
and  he  would  be  the  foremost  man  of  his  time. 

Against  the  background  of  this  imperial  dream  he 
loomed  gigantic  to  his  wife.  As  he  talked  the  gates  of 
his  very  soul  seemed  to  swing  open,  and  she  saw  its 
cavernous  and  gloomy  depths  illumined  as  by  a  terrible 
splendor.  And  in  these  depths  she  beheld,  almost  with 
a  gasp  of  terror,  his  ambitions  crouching  in  readiness 
to  spring.  These  ambitions  were  of  varying  hues  and 
forms,  but  all  were  bestial,  though  of  more  than  human 
cunning,  and  there  was  a  symmetry  about  them  that 
imparted  a  kind  of  fearful  beauty — a  beauty  such  as 
a  row  of  lurking  tigers  might  possess. 

When  he  ceased  talking  she  was  exhausted,  and  had 
nothing  to  say  except  a  few  perfunctory  words  of 
admiration.  He  went  to  bed  moody,  and  with  a  feeling 
of  rebellion  against  a  fate  which  had  given  him  a  wife 
so  little  appreciative  of  his  genius.  She  retired  to  her 
lonely  chamber  to  weep  until  dawn,  when  she  sank  into 
a  troubled  slumber.  While  he  planned  an  empire  of 
earthly  dominion,  she  mourned  the  loss  of  an  empire 
of  the  soul.  She  realized  now  that  such  a  man  could 
never  really  love  anyone  but  himself,  and  she  knew 
that  thenceforth  it  would  be  futile  to  try  to  love  him. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  103 

Although  they  had  lived  side  by  side  for  a  score  of 
years,  they  were  in  reality  further  apart  than  the  poles. 


CHAPTER    V 

THE  OPINIONS  OF  THEODORA 

On  a  day  near  the  end  of  the  following  spring  the 
face  of  C.  Jefferson  Gorman  was  being  minutely 
studied  in  a  mirror  by  its  worried  possessor.  After 
an  unusually  violent  fit  of  passion,  more  colors  than 
ever  had  appeared  in  the  shapeless  mark  upon  his 
forehead.  The  veins  stood  out  as  though  from  tre- 
mendous physical  exertions,  and  vari-hued  blood  shone 
through  the  skin  as  if  from  a  slap  by  the  hand  of  a 
pugilist. 

To  find  a  remedy  for  this  new  and  strange  affliction 
the  physicians  of  two  continents  had  been  consulted. 
Dieting  and  strenuous  exercise,  the  hot  springs  of 
Arkansas,  the  curative  waters  of  Germany,  blood  med- 
icine by  the  dozen  bottles  had  been  of  no  avail.  Was 
the  liver  to  blame,  or  should  it  be  laid  to  the  kidneys? 
None  knew.  Drinking  could  not  be  the  cause,  for  he 
drank  few  intoxicants,  and  seldom  had  he  ever  drunk 
to  excess.  He  had  too  good  a  command  of  himself  to 
indulge  in  such  dissipation  save  in  rare  intervals,  and 
then  only  in  the  privacy  of  his  club  or  home,  or  in  the 
apartments  of  his  mistress.  Was  it  heredity?  As  far 
as  he  could  discover,  none  of  his  forbears  had  been 
afflicted  in  such  a  way.  Then  was  it  atavism,  that 
irregular  heredity,  the  recurrence  of  a  disorder  cre- 
ated by  some  ancestor  who  had  lived  not  wisely  but  too 


104  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

well,  and  left  the  penalty  to  his  posterity  ?  The  doctors 
disagreed.  But  the  victim  seemed  doomed  to  bear  his 
intermittent  burden  through  life. 

But  how  capricious  was  Fate,  how  one-sided  its  re- 
wards !  Here  it  was  with  one  hand  rapidly  bestowing 
wealth  and  dominion  upon  this  man,  helping  him  to 
realize,  as  it  is  seldom  given  mortals  to  realize,  youthful 
dreams  of  success.  And  yet  with  its  other  hand, 
unseen,  pitiless,  inexorable,  it  had  perpetrated  this 
frightful  and  enduring  jest,  placing  this  motley  decora- 
tion of  a  clown's  face  upon  one  who  would  rule  as  a 
king! 

It  was  in  a  hotel  in  Baden-Baden  that  Gorman  was 
reflecting  thus.  He  had  come  to  this  resort  with  a 
two-fold  object.  He  wished  to  make  another  trial  of 
the  waters'  medicinal  powers,  and  to  bring  his  family 
into  touch  with  the  European  nobility.  He  had  begun 
to  think  that  the  baths  were  really  benefiting  him, 
when  an  argument  with  his  wife  had  brought  on  a 
recurrence  of  his  affliction.  He  was  now  exerting 
his  will  power  to  the  utmost  to  calm  his  feelings,  hav- 
ing found  that  only  in  this  way  could  he  dissipate  the 
humiliating  discolorations. 

Gorman  wanted  a  duke  for  Theodora,  a  British  duke, 
preferably.  He  might  have  taken  a  lesser  title  in  the 
British  nobility,  or  he  would  have  liked  a  Russian 
prince  of  the  best  lineage,  or  a  German,  Austrian, 
Spanish  or  Italian  title  of  high  rank,  but  he  would  not 
have  a  French  title,  nor  did  he  care  for  the  nobility 
of  the  minor  kingdoms  and  principalities.  He  even 
dreamed  of  an  alliance  with  some  branch  of  royalty 
until  he  saw  and  felt  the  utter  frigidity  with  which  the 
representatives  of  such  houses  met  any  suggestions  of 
the  sort.     European  royalty  may  have  many  weak- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  105 

nesses,  but  even  its  lesser  lights  have  ever  kept  up  the 
strongest  bars  against  an  alliance  with  any  American 
family,  though  millions  were  piled  upon  millions  as  an 
inducement. 

Theodora  was  not  told  of  the  plans  for  her  future. 
It  was  thought  best  to  give  her  a  chance  first  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  elect  of  foreign  society.  But 
Theodora  herself  did  not  seem  enthusiastic  about  the 
nobility.  She  had  even  expressed  disapproval  of  some 
of  the  scions  of  Europe's  noblest  houses  who  had  been 
presented  to  her  as  the  result  of  the  most  skillful 
maneuvering.  Perhaps  this  was  because  most  of  these 
men  were  old  and  dissipated  or  anemic-looking.  Or 
perhaps  she  was  already  in  love,  either  with  some 
American  youth  she  had  met  or  seen,  or  with  merely 
an  ideal.  She  was  of  an  age  when  ideals  are  strongest, 
and  when  the  real  world,  breaking  upon  the  view  while 
the  mind  is  yet  filled  with  the  fairer  visions  nurtured 
within  seminary  walls,  seems  dull  and  commonplace 
by  comparison. 

But  whatever  the  reason,  Gorman  suspected  his  wife 
of  having  secretly  influenced  the  girl's  mind  against 
his  wishes.  A  quarrel  resulted  while  Theodora  and  her 
brother  were  out  driving.  This  quarrel  had  thrown 
Gorman  into  a  passion,  and  had  left  his  wife  in  a  more 
melancholy  state  even  than  was  her  wont  of  late.  He 
had  retired  to  his  own  room  to  calm  his  feelings,  and 
was  still  gazing  into  his  mirror  when  he  was  handed 
a  cablegram,  which  read : 

"Grand  Union  stock  falling.     Rival  line  building." 

This  stung  him  into  action  as  nothing  had  done  for 
months.    He  burst  into  their  suite,  and  ordered  his  wife 


io6  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

to  prepare  to  sail  on  the  earliest  steamer  from  Ham- 
burg. 

"But  the  children,"  she  protested.  "They  are  just 
beginning  to  enjoy  themselves,  and  we  were  going  to 
see  the  Cologne  Cathedral  before  we  sailed." 

"To  hell  with  cathedrals !"  he  responded.  "This 
thing  of  which  I  have  told  you  may  mean  that  I'll  win 
or  lose  enough  to  build  a  dozen  cathedrals.    Don't  stop 

to  argue  about  such  trivialities   when "  here  he 

thought  of  his  forehead,  and  paused  to  modify  his  tone 
and  his  temper.  "We  really  must  go,  Millicent,"  he 
went  on,  more  gently.  "Here's  a  draft.  Order  what 
you  may  need  for  the  trip  home.  Or,  no,  perhaps 
after  all  you  had  better  stay  here  till  June,  and  finish 
your  visit.  There's  still  a  chance  that  Theodora  will 
see  the  advantage  of  making  friends  in  the  best  circles, 
and  I'll  grant  that  you  will  not  discourage  her  in  that 
direction.  Only  give  her  a  chance,  that's  all,  and  she 
may  do  the  rest,"  and  he  hurried  out. 

Theodora  came  in  a  moment  later.  In  the  spring- 
time of  life,  and  fresh  from  the  out-of-doors  on  a  per- 
fect spring  day,  it  would  have  been  strange  if  she  had 
not  brought  a  vernal  atmosphere  into  the  apartment. 
But  young  and  blooming  as  she  was,  there  was  yet  a 
touch  of  melancholy  in  her  presence,  a  shadowy,  seri- 
ous something  in  her  deep  brown  eyes  that  hinted  of  a 
soul  attuned  to  the  sorrows  of  others,  if  it  felt  no 
sorrow  of  its  own.  Though  named  for  an  empress, 
she  was  democratic  in  her  sympathies,  and  she  both 
loved  and  resembled  her  mother  more  than  she  did  her 
father.  Intuitively  she  knew  that  there  was  little  love 
between  her  parents,  and  she  had  a  feeling  of  resent- 
ment against  him  on  this  account,  though   she  had 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  107 

never  learned  of  their  quarrels,  nor  heard  her  mother 
utter  a  complaint. 

"Your  father  must  return  to  New  York  at  once," 
Mrs.  Gorman  said.  "We  may  remain  till  June,  if  we 
like." 

"We  may  remain?"  repeated  Theodora,  seating  her- 
self upon  a  couch.  "Well,  if  you  wish  it,  although  I 
don't  like  Germany  as  much  as  I  thought  I  should. 
So  many  of  the  people,  including  even  the  nobility, 
seem  gluttonish." 

"It  is  your  father's  opinion  that  you  should  cultivate 
acquaintances  among  more  exclusive  and  aristocratic 
society  than  you  do  now,  my  dear." 

"Well,  mother,  I  have  my  own  ideas  about  friend- 
ship, and  I  think  I  might  be  allowed  to  choose  my 
friends.  Those  I  have  met  and  liked  seem  to  be  of 
as  high  character  as — well,  as  anyone." 

"It  is  not  character  so  much  as  position  that  we 
should  think  of,  your  father  believes.  He  has  high 
ideas  as  to  those  whom  you  and  your  brother  should 
cultivate." 

"High  ideas,  but  does  that  mean  high  ideals}'  'If  you 
would  have  a  friend,  you  must  be  one,'  some  philoso- 
pher says,  and  I  agree  with  him." 

"You  are  so  serious,  Theodora,  and  yet  I  like  to 
have  you  so.  I  myself  think  friendships  are  not  to  be 
restricted  to  any  one  class,  and  that  a  true  friendship 
is  a  thing  above  class.  But  you  might  discover  friends 
among— among,  say,  the  titled  folk  whom  your  father 
knows  here.  Surely,  there  are  some  agreeable  persons 
in  that  class." 

"Perhaps,  but  I  haven't  met  many  among  them.  Thev 
are  often  coldly  critical,  and  when  they  are  pleasant 
to  us,  they  seem  condescendingly  so.     At  least  I  feel 


io8  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

that  to  be  their  attitude.  I  want  to  be  looked  at,  rather 
than  upon,  and  actually  to  be  one  of  a  set  rather  than 
to  be  tolerated  in  it." 

"That  young  Russian,  Prince  Sergius  Krupoffkin, 
likes  you,  and  he  wishes  to  call  oftener,  doesn't  he  ?" 

"Yes,  but  I  dislike  him.  I  have  heard  that  these 
polished  Russians  are  often  brutal  under  the  veneer 
of  culture.  Clay  told  me  that  he  heard  at  Heidelberg 
that  when  they  go  back  to  their  estates  they  are  brutes 
in  their  treatment  of  the  peasants.  I  feel — I  don't 
know,  but  I  feel  that  Prince  Sergius  is  that  kind,  for 
all  his  suavity." 

"How  about  the  other  noble  young  men  you  have 
met?" 

"Few  have  been  young,  and  still  fewer  interesting. 
My  English  friends  tell  me  that  without  exception 
titled  persons  in  Europe  care  nothing  about  us  Amer- 
icans unless  we  have  money,  and  lots  of  it." 

"Your  father  has  lots  of  it,  Theodora." 

"That  is  precisely  why  I  am  not  flattered  by  the 
'love'  of  Prince  Sergius  or  any  other  nobleman,"  and 
she  went  out,  humming : 

"'I  would  be  loved  as  I  could  love— 
'Twere  not  enough  to  seem. 
Oh,  yes,  my  Love  must  truly  love, 
Else  love  were  but  a  dream/" 


CHAPTER  VI 

MERCEDES 

For  all  of  love's  witching  arts  was  Mercedes  Durkin 
formed,  and  she  seemed  formed  for  little  else.     From 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  109 

her  mother  she  inherited  the  blood  and  the  beauty  of 
a  Creole,  who  was  half  French  and  half  Spanish.  From 
her  father,  a  Louisiana  planter,  who,  as  colonel  of  a 
regiment,  had  followed  to  poverty  and  disease  and 
death  the  hopeless  cause  of  the  Confederacy,  she  got 
little  save  pride  and  ambition.  The  sterling  qualities 
of  the  old  soldier  might  have  been  developed  in  a  son, 
but  they  seemed  lost  in  a  daughter  to  whom  love  of 
ease  and  luxury  was  stronger  than  all  else. 

Her  mother,  spending  her  declining  years  in  genteel 
but  galling  poverty,  relieved  by  the  charity  of  her 
Cuban  relatives,  had  resolved  that  Mercedes  should 
meet  no  similar  fate.  They  lived  in  a  side  street  in  New 
Orleans,  and  the  girl  attended  social  affairs  whenever 
she  possessed  a  presentable  gown.  At  one  of  these 
affairs  she  met  Richard  Durkin,  son  of  a  Philadelphia 
manufacturer.  He  was  charmed  with  her,  and  wanted 
to  marry  her.  He  was  a  Yankee — one  of  that  hated 
race  that  had  overrun  and  despoiled  the  fair  South- 
land— but  he  was  a  rich  Yankee.  And  Mercedes, 
urged  by  her  mother's  ambition  to  die  comfortably, 
and  by  her  own  ambition  to  live  comfortably,  married 
him.    Her  mother  died  happy  soon  afterward. 

Mercedes  was  well  received  in  Philadelphia,  and  was 
welcomed  even  more  cordially  in  New  York.  That  is, 
the  men  were  cordial  to  her,  and  so  were  a  few  of  the 
women  of  that  advanced  stage  of  life  at  which  they 
could  not  possibly  be  her  rivals.  These  elderly  dames 
loved  her  vivacity,  her  soft  Southern  accent,  and  the 
atmosphere  of  unmistakable  gentility  about  her.  Be- 
sides, she  was  related  to  a  Spanish  marquis  on  her 
mother's  side.  Of  course  she  was  quite  vivacious,  but 
then,  the  Latin  blood  is  given  to  gayety.  Warm 
natures  come  from  warm  climes. 


no  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

While  her  husband  drank,  and  played  poker,  and 
was  "trimmed"  by  some  of  the  men  in  the  fast  set,  his 
wife  was  pursued  and  laid  siege  to  by  the  others. 

It  was  at  a  bal  masque — formerly  known  as  a  masked 
ball — at  the  home  of  the  Rhinelander  Hudsons,  in 
upper  Fifth  avenue,  that  Gorman  first  saw  her.  She 
came  as  a  Spanish  peasant  girl,  disdaining  the  gor- 
geous costume,  powdered  hair,  patches  of  court  plaster 
on  chin,  and  other  decorations  that  so  many  of  the 
feminine  guests  affected.  She  was  dressed  as  a  peas- 
ant, which  at  a  bal  masque  means  an  ideal  peasant 
Her  skirts  came  only  a  little  way  below  her  knees. 
Diamonds  shone  in  her  ears,  and  upon  her  wrists  were 
circlets  of  gold.  Her  dark  tresses,  bound  merely  by 
a  loose  red  ribbon,  flowed  over  perfect  shoulders. 

The  simple  black  domino  which  she  wore  could  not 
conceal  her  identity.  Men  surrounded  her  at  every  lull 
in  the  dancing.  Her  card  was  filled  before  the  first 
dance  was  begun.  She  was  followed  by  a  motley  train 
of  courtiers  wherever  she  went.  She  was  the  pivot 
upon  which  all  the  festivities  turned.  If  envious 
glances  had  been  poisoned  darts  she  would  have  per- 
ished before  the  evening  was  an  hour  old. 

Gorman,  attired  as  a  Dutch  burgomaster,  led  the  van 
of  her  admirers,  shouldering  aside  most  of  the  others. 
The  sheer  force  of  his  personality,  masked  though  he 
was,  counted  here  as  in  the  more  practical  affairs  of 
life.  He  had  the  foresight  to  obtain  the  host's  prom- 
ise to  seat  him  next  to  her  at  the  midnight  supper. 
But  he  sought  further  triumphs.  "Will  you  come  with 
me  to  the  conservatory  after  this  dance?"  he  whis- 
pered, as  he  held  her  more  closely  than  necessary  to 
guide  her  about  the  waxed  floor.     "I  have  something 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  in 

to  say  about  your  husband's  business  prospects  that  will 
interest  you." 

An  unromantic  reason,  this.  But  she  suspected  his 
identity,  and  his  very  name  lent  a  certain  glamour  to 
his  attentions.  Her  husband's  rapidly  dwindling  bank 
balance  and  her  own  ambition  to  soar  socially  made  her 
averse  to  offending  him. 

"Who  are  you,  please?"  she  asked. 

He  spoke  his  name  in  low  tones. 

She  slightly  inclined  her  head,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
dance  she  allowed  him  to  lead  her  into  the  conserva- 
tory. They  sat  upon  a  divan  shielded  by  palms,  and 
near  a  plashing  fountain.  The  scent  of  roses  and  of 
that  rare  exotic,  the  Peruvian  heliotrope,  filled  the  air. 
Occasionally  masked  revelers  strolled  past  Gorman 
summoney  a  lackey,  and  ordered  wine. 

"My  dear  Mrs.  Durkin,  I  have  so  long  wanted  to 
know  you  better,"  he  said,  filling  her  glass  to  the  brim. 
His  eyes  feasted  upon  her.  "I  have  heard  that  your 
husband  is  in  temporary  financial  embarrassment,  and 
for  your  sake  and  his,  I  want  to  aid  him." 

"Why,  how — how  strange,  Mr.  Gorman,  but 
really " 

"I  have  heard  of  Mr.  Durkin's  business  ability,"  he 
went  on,  glibly,  "and  I  have  thought  of  making  him 
one  of  the  managers  of  my  telephone  system." 

"Well,  I  am  sure  poor  Dick  would  be  grateful,  but 
— but  why  don't  you  ask  him  ?" 

"I  have  thought  of  writing  him  to  call  at  my  office, 
but  I  am  told  that  he  is  not  here  to-night,  so  decided 
to  discuss  it  with  you  instead." 

The  man  whose  "business  ability"  so  impressed  Gor- 
man was  at  that  moment  in  a  private  hospital  recover- 
ing from  a  debauch. 


ii2  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

"I  will  send  him  to  see  you  in  a  few  days,"  she  said. 
"It  is  the  first  offer  of  substantial  aid  from  any  one. 
All  his  pretended  friends  in  this  wicked  city  win  his 
money  at  cards,  and  help  him  to  throw  it  away  in 
other  directions." 

"Yes,  they  are  beasts,  many  of  them — they  are  vul- 
tures. They  should  be  restrained  by  the  thought  of 
his  beautiful  and  accomplished  wife,  if  by  nothing 
else." 

And  then  he  told  of  a  new  extension  to  his  telephone 
system,  and  of  another  issue  of  stock  that  was  to 
result.  If  her  husband  would  only  take  some  of  the 
stock  at  half  the  price  at  which  it  was  to  be  placed 
on  the  market,  he  could  surely  recoup  his  gambling 
losses  and  re-engage  in  business.  "Think  of  what  it 
would  mean  to  you  to  have  all  your  fortune  back,  and 
perhaps  much  more,"  and  as  he  uttered  these  words  he 
moved  closer,  and  let  his  hand  fall  upon  hers. 

She  withdrew  her  hand  and  replied,  "Ah,  yes,  but  it 
takes  money  to  buy  stock " 

"Not  always/'  he  interrupted,  moving  closer.  "Now, 
in  Mr.  Durkin's  case,  I  would  take  his  note  for  as  much 
as  he  wants  to  invest,  up  to — say  twenty  thousand. 
The  stock  is  sure  to  double  or  treble  in  value." 

"Why,  Mr.  Gorman!"  she  exclaimed.  "You  are 
kind,  but  I  do  not — why,  we  have  never  even  been 
introduced !" 

"Love  laughs  at  locksmiths  and  at  introductions,"  he 
said,  seizing  her  hand  again.  "I  feel  that  I  have  known 
you  always,"  he  went  on,  in  a  frenzy  of  desire.  "If 
would  only  let  me  love  you  a  little " 

She  rose  from  her  chair  and  struggled  to  be  free. 
He  attempted  to  press  her  to  him,  when  he  collided 
with  the  table,  and  a  wine  glass  crashed  to  the  floor. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  113 

As  she  wrenched  her  hand  loose  she  heard  footsteps 
approaching,  and  she  sank  back  in  her  chair,  while  he 
also  resumed  his  seat 

"That  was  the  last  dance  before  supper,"  she  said,  as 
several  guests  with  masks  off  passed  by.  "Let  us 
Unmask  now  and  go  in.  I  don't  know  what  to  think  of 
you,  Mr.  Gorman,"  she  added,  when  the  others  were 
out  of  hearing.    "I  really  don't  know  what  to  think." 

"Think  that  I  love  you." 

"Impossible.    Why " 

"I  tell  you  that  I  do." 

She  took  off  her  domino,  but  avoided  his  gaze.  She 
was  more  attractive  than  ever  now,  with  her  long 
lashes  drooping  over  eyes  of  luminous  beauty,  and  her 
classic  profile  showing  in  all  its  perfection.  She  re- 
minded him  of  a  beautiful  statue  come  to  life,  as  in 
the  fable  of  the  Grecian  sculptor. 

"Aren't  you  going  to  unmask?"  she  inquired,  ignor- 
ing his  last  protestation  of  love.  She  looked  toward 
him,  but  her  expression  was  merely  one  of  polite 
interest. 

He  began  to  remove  his  mask.  The  rubber  band 
attached  to  it  caught  on  his  wig  of  long,  curly  hair, 
and  in  trying  to  loosen  it  he  pulled  the  wig  from  his 
head.  Mask  and  wig  fell  upon  the  table  together. 
When  he  looked  up  it  was  to  see  an  expression  of  hor- 
ror upon  the  beautiful  face  before  him. 

His  passionate  excitement  had  caused  a  recurrence 
of  the  frightful  mark  on  his  forehead.  It  now  glowed 
like  a  hideous  carbuncle,  shot  with  opalescent  fires,  and 
above  it  rose  his  gleaming  bald  head,  relieved  only  by 
a  scanty  forelock. 

At  this  moment  a  party  of  guests  approached, 
headed   by    Herbert    De    Blick.      The    commonplace, 


ii4  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

almost  vacuous  face  of  that  young  man  seemed  to  Mer- 
cedes almost  Apollo-like  in  comparison  with  that  which 
she  had  just  looked  upon.  She  turned  to  him  quickly, 
and  gave  him  her  arm. 

"Good  night,  Mr.  Gorman,"  she  said,  over  her  shoul- 
der. "I  won't  stay  to  supper,  thanks,"  and  she  whis- 
pered to  her  companion  to  move  away.  "I'm  so  glad 
you  came.  Take  me  back  to  the  Gorbets,  where  I  am 
staying  now.    I'll  explain  in  the  carriage." 


CHAPTER  VTI 

PLANS    OF    RIVAL    FINANCIERS 

All  that  summer  Gorman  worked  to  stifle  the 
scheme  of  his  rivals  to  build  a  railway  to  compete  with 
his  Grand  Union  system.  That  system  bisected  Penn- 
sylvania from  east  to  west,  and  in  alliance  with  the 
telephone  and  telegraph,  gas  and  street  railway  and 
other  corporations  often  dominated  the  State.  The 
rival  financiers  were  headed  by  old  Jacob  De  Blick, 
who  already  ruled  the  railways  of  New  York  State. 

Gorman  sat  in  his  office  one  autumn  morning  talking 
over  the  situation  with  his  chief  counsel,  Eli j all  Bron- 
son.  His  offices  now  occupied  three  floors  of  a  ten- 
story  granite  building  that  had  been  erected  at  a  prom- 
inent Wall  street  corner  for  his  firm.  The  approach 
to  the  sanctum  of  the  chief  was  guarded  by  a  cordon 
of  lackeys,  and  it  was  a  most  clever  person  who  could 
gain  access  if  he  was  not  desired.  There  was  a  large 
apartment  adjoining,  furnished  with  a  long  center 
table  and  a  dozen  chairs,  and  a  buffet  containing  fine 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  115 

wines,  liqueurs  and  cigars.  This  was  for  conferences 
when  more  than  two  or  three  visitors  of  importance 
came  at  one  time.  The  chief  carpenter  who  designed 
all  this  under  Gorman's  eye  asked  him  why  he  did  not 
have  his  office  one  story  higher,  where  he  could  receive 
more  daylight,  since  a  tall  building  was  being  erected 
across  the  street.  "In  case  of  fire  I  want  to  be  near 
the  ground,"  was  the  reply. 

"Bronson,"  said  Gorman  on  this  autumn  morning, 
"you  must  get  by  any  means  the  names  of  everybody 
behind  this  South  Union  hold-up.  Of  course,  it's  a 
hold-up,  though  many  of  those  with  old  De  Blick  don't 
know  it." 

"Well,  I've  tried  everything,"  replied  Bronson. 

"The  telephone  and  mail  included?" 

"Yes.  We've  had  a  wire  connected  with  the  De  Blick 
home  and  office  wires  night  and  day  for  a  week  now, 
and  I  can  show  you  copies  of  all  the  conversations  of 
every  one  who  talked  with  him.  There's  nothing  more 
than  we  knew  beforehand.    He  must  suspect." 

"How  about  the  mail  ?" 

"Well,  you  know  that  isn't  so  sure,  but  our  post- 
office  aids  know  their  business  pretty  well.  De  Blick's 
messengers  have  been  watched,  and  whenever  they've 
dropped  letters  in  mail  boxes,  other  letters,  properly 
marked,  have  been  put  in  right  on  top.  Reports  on 
two  dozen  or  more  that  were  opened  show  nothing 
important" 

Bronson  was  clean  shaven  and  keen  eyed,  cold  and 
emotionless.  He  could  not  easily  win  a  verdict  from 
a  jury.  But  he  could  make,  perhaps,  the  clearest, 
most  logical  argument  to  a  court  of  any  man  in  Amer- 
ica. And  in  the  cases  of  greatest  importance,  the  kind 
that  are  oftenest  appealed  to  the  highest  tribunals, 


n6  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

where  juries  do  not  sit,  such  talent  is  more  valuable 
than  the  spectacular  ability  of  wringing  tears  from 
jurors'  eyes.  He  was  a  grave  and  reverend  seignior 
in  appearance,  and  when  he  rose  in  court  to  present  his 
case  he  was  always  sure  of  a  respectful  hearing.  The 
fact  that  he  had  begun  his  career  by  finding  legal 
loopholes  for  criminal  politicians  did  not  detract  from 
the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  bench  and  bar. 
Gorman  had  overbid  a  dozen  others  when  he  retained 
him  at  the  head  of  his  legal  department. 

Bronson  soon  found,  if  he  did  not  already  know  it, 
that  he  must  do  other  things  than  render  legal  ser- 
vices to  his  employer.  To  supervise  an  intricate  spy 
system  was  one  of  these  things.  He  did  not  balk  at 
this.  Rather,  he  at  once  set  about  improving  the  sys- 
tem. A  dozen  men  sometimes  reported  to  him  in  a 
single  day  as  to  the  movements  of  his  master's  rivals 
and  enemies.  Their  remuneration  was  recorded  on  the 
company's  books  under  "legal  expenses." 

"We  must  stop  the  building  of  that  line,  and  stop  it 
quick,"  Gorman  went  on.  "De  Blick  has  no  business 
getting  into  that  State.  I've  let  him  alone  in  New 
York,  and  he's  got  to  let  me  alone  there.  The  Grand 
Union  wants  all  the  business  between  here  and  Pitts- 
burgh, and  it's  going  to  have  it." 

"De  Blick  has  strong  support  among  the  old  fam- 
ilies of  Philadelphia,"  said  Bronson.  "The  Durkins, 
for  instance,  have  invested  about  all  they  had  with  him. 
They  sold " 

"Who,  the  Durkins  T 

"Yes.  They  sold  their  town  house  and  retired  to 
their  country  estate  in  the  Blue  Ridge  mountains  in 
Virginia.  It  is  young  Durkin's  last  desperate  chance 
to  recoup  himself  after  a  giddy  whirl  in  high  life." 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  117 

"How  much  stock  did  you  say  he  bought?" 

"I  didn't  hear  the  figure,  but  he  bought  all  he  could 
get  with  the  money  he  raised  on  his  house.  Old  De 
Blick  made  him  believe  it  was  a  great  chance,  though 
the  inside  crowd  got  it  for  about  half  what  Durkin 
paid.  From  what  I've  heard,  young  De  Blick  is  rather 
attentive  to  Durkin's  wife,  and  perhaps  he'd  like  to  be 
a  kind  of  rescuing  angel  after  the  old  man  takes  all  the 
family's  cash." 

The  Durkins  had  disappeared  from  New  York  one 
week  after  the  Hudson  ball.  Gorman  had  heard  that 
they  had  returned  to  Philadelphia,  only  to  vanish  from 
the  social  life  of  that  city.  The  intelligence  he  now 
heard  was  his  first  definite  news  of  their  whereabouts. 

He  pressed  a  button  at  the  side  of  his  desk,  and 
when  an  office  boy  appeared,  told  him  to  call  in  Mr. 
Sloat,  who  was  a  junior  partner.  Sloat  was  president 
of  one  of  the  two  Gorman  banks,  having  inherited  the 
place  when  his  father  died  He  was  content  to  be  a 
banker  and  a  banker  only,  and  had  little  relish  for  the 
ambitious  schemes  which  his  chief  was  always 
engineering.  He  preferred  collecting  books  and  pic- 
tures for  his  home  to  spending  his  leisure  hours  in 
planning  a  greater  fortune.  Having  such  views,  he 
was.  of  course,  out  of  harmony  with  the  ideals  of 
American  business  life.  Gorman,  who  secretly  envied 
him  his  hair,  but  hated  more  his  lackadaisical  business 
methods,  intended  to  supplant  him  with  his  own  son 
as  soon  as  Gay  was  old  enough  for  the  place. 

As  Sloat  now  entered,  languidly  pulling  at  his 
mustache,  he  resolved  to  displace  him  as  speedily  as 
he  could  find  an  able  and  trustworthy  lieutenant  in  his 
stead.  That  was  the  great  trouble  in  Wall  street:  so 
few  of  the  ambitious  men  were  trustworthy 


u8  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

After  talking  with  Sloat  and  Bronson  for  a  while, 
he  summoned  several  other  assistants,  and  started  giv- 
ing orders  like  a  general  at  the  beginning  of  a  battle, 
not  waiting  for  replies  or  questions. 

"Work  every  possible  source  of  information  about 
South  Union.  Buy  the  stock  in  at  any  price,  wherever 
you  can  find  it.  But  don't  bother  the  Durkins  unless  I 
say  the  word.  Telephone  the  right  brokers  and  give 
them  orders  to  sell  South  Union  on  'Change,  and  then 
fire  orders  in  from  the  other  side  to  buy  as  soon  as 
prices  drop  four  or  five  points.  Never  mind  expenses. 
I'm  going  on  a  still  hunt  myself,  and  I  want  good 
reports  on  my  return." 

He  whirled  about  in  his  revolving  chair,  and  picked 
up  a  document  on  his  desk.  At  this,  the  others  with- 
drew at  once,  and  he  began  planning  a  journey  in- 
tended to  bring  him  success  of  more  than  one  kind. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

THE  DURKINS'  RETREAT 

Early  the  next  morning  he  left  home  in  a  hired 
carriage.  His  wife  and  daughter  had  returned  from 
Europe,  and  when  they  were  at  home  he  often  thought 
it  best  to  use  a  public  conveyance.  One's  own  livery- 
men were  too  apt  to  be  asked  leading  questions  by  the 
members  of  one's  own  family. 

He  was  driven  ten  blocks  north  in  Fifth  avenue,  and 
thence  into  a  side  street.  The  carriage  stopped  before 
one  of  a  solid  row  of  brownstone  houses. 

On  the  first   floor   resided   Oueen   Isabella   of  the 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  119 

Roderigos,  a  tribe  of  Spanish  gypsies.  Gorman,  deal- 
ing with  the  hard  facts  of  life  every  day,  and  meeting 
with  few  reverses  in  his  ascent  of  fortune's  wheel, 
felt  himself  on  an  uncharted  sea  when  in  pursuit  of  the 
charms  of  love.  He  reasoned  that  those  who  had 
garnered  the  wisdom  of  older  civilizations  upon  this 
Bubject  were  better  qualified,  rurely,  than  others  to 
guide  one's  course  over  that  sea.  He  might  be  a  little 
superstitious,  he  admitted  to  himself.  But  then,  Napo- 
leon was  superstitious. 

Queen  Isabella,  in  a  sleeveless  red  gown,  came  into 
the  little  darkened  parlor,  took  Gorman's  right  hand 
between  her  two  pudgy  ones,  and  closely  studied  the 
palm  for  several  minutes.  Then  she  turned  the  hand 
over  and  looked  at  the  back,  and  quickly  reversed  it 
again.  "Ah,"  she  said,  "you  have  the  web-like  for-r- 
mation  between  the  fingers.  They  ar-re  long  in  the 
back  and  shor-rt  in  fr-ront.  That  means  that  you  have 
no  business  ability." 

"What,  no  business  ability?"  he  repeated,  in  dis- 
trustful accents.  He  thought  that  she  must  be  only 
a  crude  trickster,  after  all. 

"Oh,  no  business  ability  in  the  or-rdinary  sense,"  she 
replied.  "You  have  gr-rasp  of  the  big  affairs,  and 
str-r-ong  char-racter,  as  I  see  by  the  palm,  but  in 
ever-ry  day  things  you  do  not  have  the  business  ability. 
No,  your  mind  is  illuminate  by  electric  flashes,  and 
then  you  do  wonder-rful  things — yes,  by  electric 
flashes,  like  some  gr-reat  capitains — like — well,  like 
Napoleon,  say,  like  that  he  was  some  time." 

Distrust  was  now  succeeded  by  a  thrill  of  pleasure. 

"And  how  about  love  ?"  he  asked. 

"Ah,  I  see  a  complicate  heart  line.  You  will  be 
mar-ry  more  than  once,  maybe.     And  a  square  at  the 


120  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

end  of  the  hear-rt  line  means  success  in  love,  but — let 
see,  now — but  not  altogether  success.  You  will  suc- 
ceed more  in  the  money,  yes,  much  more  in  the 
money." 

He  pressed  into  her  hand  a  five-dollar  bill  instead  of 
her  regular  fee  of  two  dollars,  and  hurried  away  to 
catch  a  train. 

The  last  ten  miles  of  his  journey  were  made  in  a 
stage  coach.  The  only  other  passengers  were  three 
men  and  one  woman,  and  these  were  left  at  farm 
houses  in  a  valley  before  half  the  way  had  been  trav- 
eled to  the  Durkins'  retreat  near  the  top  of  a  Virginia 
mountain. 

It  was  mid-autumn,  and  the  heralds  of  the  coming 
Winter  had  spread  gorgeous  tapestries  in  honor  of  his 
approach.  The  grass,  turning  from  green  to  rich  yel- 
lows and  golden  browns,  had  been  adorned  by  brush 
and  bramble  of  varying  hues  and  forms  until  it  was  like 
a  titanic  Gobelin  masterpiece  hung  upon  the  mountain 
side.  The  sumac's  crimson  fires  were  balanced  by 
the  evergreen's  cool  disdain.  The  dogwoods,  with 
claret  leafage  massed  atop  of  slender  stems,  were  as 
immense  cups  of  wine  which,  when  stirred  by  the 
breeze,  seemed  bubbling  in  readiness  to  be  quaffed. 
The  greater  trees,  clad  in  the  season's  splendid  raiment, 
appeared  to  have  acquired  human  attributes  therefrom. 
The  oak  had  been  shocked  into  purple  blushes  by  the 
frost  king's  familiar  touch,  while  the  hickory,  a  more 
willing  concubine,  was  already  bedecked  with  gold. 
The  maple,  in  scarlet  coat,  was  in  knightly  attendance 
upon  the  courtly  beech,  who,  with  fleecy,  lace-like 
branches  and  foliage  of  amber  richness,  was  like  a 
regal  beauty  come  into  her  own.  And  at  times  when 
the  wind  freshened,  all  these  and  other  forest  nobles 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  121 

were  set  a-nodding  to  each  other  as  though  about  to 
join  in  the  stately  measures  of  a  minuet. 

But  there  would  have  been  little  music  for  such  a 
dance  save  the  whistling  winds.  The  last  of  the  musi- 
cians of  the  woods  had  flown  southward  except  the 
red-winged  blackbird,  whose  lonely  carol  was  heard 
at  intervals,  and  whose  vermillion  pinions  were  seen 
flashing  in  the  sun  as  an  interlude,  his  gorgeous  color 
tones  supplementing  and  rounding  out  the  beauty  in 
his  tones  of  sound.  And  ofttimes  above  his  plaintive 
notes  rose  the  caw-cawing  of  the  somber  hued  crows, 
droning  a  hoarse  requiem  to  autumn's  passing  glories. 

But  to  all  of  nature's  symphony  Gorman  gave  scarce 
a  thought.  Ever  single-minded  when  in  quest  of  an 
important  object,  he  was  busily  turning  over  in  his 
brain  as  he  smoked  upon  a  strong  cigar  his  plan  to 
capture  what,  to  him,  was  nature's  greatest  handiwork, 
the  beautiful  woman  he  desired  above  all  others.  How 
to  account  satisfactorily  to  the  Durkins  for  his  unan- 
nounced visit,  how  to  put  the  husband  under  obliga- 
tions to  him,  how  to  influence  the  wife  to  accept  favors, 
and  to  exact  favors  from  her  in  return,  all  without 
risking  his  life  or  reputation — this  was  his  problem, 
and  visions  of  his  success  were  more  charming  than 
aught  else. 

Marie  Dalton  would  no  longer  suffice.  She  was  past 
forty  now,  and  was  still  charming  in  her  well  preserved 
way,  still  an  artist  on  and  off  the  stage,  although  now 
retired  from  active  life.  He  himself  had  reached  the 
forty-seventh  milestone  of  existence.  But  a  vigorous 
man  of  that  age  is  only  in  his  prime,  while  a  woman 
near  the  same  period  has  entered  into  inevitable  decline 
in  all  that  pertains  to  the  senses.  And  in  such  a  love 
as  had  existed  between  them  the  senses  were  para- 


122  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

mount.  Yet  she  had  some  feeling  of  finer  regard  for 
him,  based  upon  memories  of  his  earlier  years.  She 
had  always  pretended  not  to  notice  his  growing  phys- 
ical unattractiveness,  and  his  increasing  sordidness  of 
mind.  And  he  in  turn  was  not  destitute  of  conscience. 
He  never  let  her  know  that  she  was  less  desirable  to 
him.  The  gradual  decrease  in  the  frequency  of  his 
visits  she  believed  to  be  due  to  his  business  cares  and 
to  infirmity  caused  by  overwork,  rather  than  to  his 
pursuit  of  other  women.  And  so  she  was  content  to 
live  m  her  country  villa,  surrounded  by  luxuries,  and 
thus  slip  peacefully  and  gracefully  into  old  age. 

When  the  coach  arrived  at  the  Durkin  home  it  was 
past  noon,  and  the  horses  were  almost  exhausted  by 
their  long  climb.  The  sound  of  creaking  wheels  and 
the  driver's  "Whoa"  brought  both  husband  and  wife  to 
the  door.  Visitors  were  so  rare  that  the  sight  of  a 
passenger  alighting  sent  them  running  down  the  path 
that  wound  in  and  out  from  their  cabin  among  pine 
and  scrub  oak  trees  to  the  road,  fifty  yards  distant. 


CHAPTER   IX 

A   PROPOSITION    TO  A    HUSBAND 

A  hunting  lodge  built  of  rough  hewn  logs,  and 
enlarged  by  the  addition  of  four  small  rooms  to  the 
original  one  of  large  size,  was  the  place  to  which 
Richard  Durkin's  dissipation  had  reduced  himself  and 
his  wife.  The  lodge  was  made  habitable  by  furniture 
from  their  Philadelphia  home,  and  here  they  were 
spending  their  time  as  well  as  they  could,  waited  upon 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  123 

by  a  single  mulatto  maid  of  surpassing  faithfulness, 
and  hoping  desperately  that  their  last  investment  would 
soon  profit  them  enough  to  take  them  back  to  a  life  of 
luxury.  It  was  a  gambler's  chance  at  best,  but  a 
gambler's  chance  was  better  than  none. 

He  passed  the  time  in  hunting,  in  riding  about  the 
country  and  in  trying  to  keep  Mercedes  from  becom- 
ing melancholy.  But  this  latter  task  was  like  putting 
a  silver  pheasant  in  a  narrow  cage,  and  asking  it  to 
be  happy.  At  times  she  amused  herself  at  the  piano, 
which  had  been  saved  from  their  fortune's  wreck  and 
brought  up  the  mountain  side  at  no  little  expense.  At 
other  times  she  took  horseback  rides  to  plantations  five 
to  fifteen  miles  away.  She  and  her  husband  occasion- 
ally spent  a  week  at  such  places,  and  then  she  enjoyed 
life,  for  there  was  music  and  dancing,  and  there  were 
men  to  strive  for  her  smiles.  There  were  some  good 
books  in  the  hunting  lodge,  and  in  the  long  evenings 
she  read  these,  though  her  tastes  ran  to  life  rather 
than  to  literature.  She  was  steadily  growing  more 
discontented  and  moody,  in  spite  of  her  outdoor  life, 
which  kept  her  physically  strong  and  helped  to  buoy 
her  spirits. 

On  this  autumn  day,  when  they  recognized  the  well 
known  face  and  form  of  Gorman  before  their  house, 
husband  and  wife  were  almost  transfixed  by  surprise. 
Mercedes  had  never  told  Richard  more  of  her  experi- 
ence with  the  magnate  than  that  she  had  danced  with 
him  at  the  Hudsons'  ball.  She  felt  that  she  loathed 
him.  But  she  now  hastened  forward  to  greet  him. 
She  was  a  Southern  woman,  and  he  had  come  to  be  her 
guest.  She  introduced  him  to  her  husband,  wondering 
the  while  at  his  cool  assurance,  and  speculating  as  to 
his  exact  motive  in  visiting  them. 


124  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

"I  had  no  time  to  warn  you  that  I  was  coming,"  Gor- 
man said,  as  they  all  walked  slowly  toward  the  cabin. 
"It  all  happened  so  suddenly.  I  saw  my  way  to  aid 
you  to  big  things  in  a  railroad  deal,  and  came  at  once. 
Was  I  right?" 

Richard,  who  had  insisted  on  carrying  his  traveling 
bag,  heartily  assured  him  of  his  appreciation.  Mer- 
cedes smiled  inscrutably,  but  said  nothing.  In  spite  of 
her  dislike,  she  was  not  sorry  the  magnate  had  come. 
Almost  any  visitor  was  better  than  no  visitor,  and  she 
welcomed  diversion  as  an  exile  welcomes  news  from 
home. 

"But  let  us  have  dinner,  and  then  we  can  talk  things 
over  at  leisure,"  said  Richard.  "Won't  you  stroll  about 
with  me  and  look  at  the  view  while  the  maid  sets  the 
table?" 

Gorman  said  he  would  be  delighted,  and  the  two 
men  were  soon  walking  about,  chatting  like  old  friends, 
while  Mercedes  went  in  to  help  Matilda,  the  maid, 
prepare  the  midday  meal,  which  is  luncheon  in  New 
York,  but  dinner  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line. 

Two  rabbits  shot  that  morning,  sweet  potatoes  from 
a  plantation  in  the  valley,  canned  vegetables,  a  raisin 
pudding,  coffee  and  some  imported  cheese  brought 
from  Philadelphia  were  served  on  a  mahogany  table 
in  Dresden  china  dishes.  In  the  center  of  the  table  was 
a  cut  glass  vase  filled  with  autumn  leaves  and  flowers. 
The  napery  was  spotless,  but  was  beginning  to  show 
signs  of  wear.  "Moonshine"  brandy  was  drunk  by  all 
as  a  preliminary,  and  it  produced  that  mellow  glow 
which  only  pure  liquor  can  give. 

"A  feast  fit  for  the  gods,  in  a  place  that  is  a  second 
Olympus,"  burst  from  Gorman's  lips,  as  he  began  to 
chew  a  rabbit's  leg.     "I  haven't  had  such  an  appetite 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  125 

for  years.  Durkin,  you  are  really  to  be  envied.  If  I 
could  feel  like  this  every  day,  I'd  want  to  give  up 
business  to-morrow,  and  move  to  some  place  like 
yours." 

'The  fall  is  lovely  enough,  but  the  winter — ugh!" 
said  Mercedes.  "The  monotony  and  the  cold  both  will 
be  too  much." 

"Pshaw!"  put  in  Richard,  pulling  at  his  dark  mus- 
tache with  one  hand,  and  with  the  other  fastening  the 
middle  button  of  his  coat  to  conceal  a  hole  in  his  vest ; 
"it  isn't  so  cold  in  Virginia  in  winter  as  it  is  in  New 
York  in  October.  But,  of  course,  city  life  is  best  in  the 
winter  season.  We  hope  to  get  back  there  soon  if  they 
put  the  South  Union  into  Pittsburgh." 

"Maybe  you  can  go  back  sooner  than  you  expect, 
though  the  South  Union  may  never  be  finished,"  said 
Gorman.  "That's  what  I  came  to  see  you  about.  But 
perhaps  we'd  better  postpone  the  subject  till  after  this 
glorious  dinner.  Sweet  potatoes  are  more  important 
than  stocks,  and  pudding,  when  it's  cooked  this  way, 
beats  a  bullish  market." 

"Oh,  let's  talk  about  the  stocks.  I'm  anxious  to 
hear  all  about  it  now,"  Mercedes  urged,  with  uncon- 
cealed eagerness.     "It  means  a  lot  to  us,  you  know.'' 

"Well,  if  you  wish,"  Gorman  replied.  He  turned 
from  the  dessert  to  look  at  her,  while  her  husband  was 
pouring  himself  another  drink.  He  thought  her  more 
charming  than  ever  in  her  simple  dark  blue  jersey. 
Perhaps  the  way  in  which  it  brought  out  the  beauty  of 
her  form  made  him  think  so.  But  he  watched  with 
delight,  too,  the  color  that  came  and  went  in  her 
cheeks,  and  the  smoldering  fires  in  the  depths  of  her 
eyes.    Her  impatience  made  him  rejoice  inwardly. 


126  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

"Upon  De  Blick's  recommendation  you  invested  in 
South  Union — let's  see,  how  much?" 

"Twenty  thousand — all  I  could  raise  at  the  time," 
responded  Richard. 

"And  how  much  did  he  say  you'd  make  ?" 

"He  said  I'd  double  it  in  six  months  or  a  little  more 
— said  it  would  be  pretty  safe  to  buy  on  margin,  but  it 
was  all  I  had,  and  I  couldn't  take  the  risk,  so  bought 
it  outright." 

"Well,  the  capitalists  behind  the  Grand  Union,  in- 
cluding myself,  own  a  majority  of  South  Union  stock 
now,  and  they  don't  want  the  road  finished.  They've 
beaten  De  Blick  this  time,  though  he's  probably  made  a 
big  profit  by  holding  'em  up  for  high  prices.  He's  not 
a  bad  fellow  to  meet  personally,  in  a  club,  or  at  a  dinner, 
but  this  work  is  simply  a  refined  sort  of  blackmail." 

"Wh — why  hasn't  he  kept  us  informed  of  this?" 
asked  Mercedes,  her  voice  trembling  with  agitation. 

"Because  he  doesn't  want  to  admit  failure  until  he 
has  to,"  replied  Gorman.  "And  he  always  looks  after 
his  own  interests  first." 

"But  how  can  we  win  out?"  Richard  wanted  to 
know. 

"That's  what  I  came  to  tell  you.  It  is  so  important 
to  your  welfare  that  I  couldn't  trust  the  mission  to  any 
one  else.  De  Blick  promised  to  double  your  investment 
in  six  months,  and  has  left  you  in  the  lurch.  Some 
time  in  the  far  future,  if  the  traffic  situation  warrants, 
the  South  Union  may  be  finished.  But  until  then,  your 
stock  will  be  worth  nothing.  I  can  make  your  invest- 
ment profitable  now  by  taking  the  stock  off  your  hands 
at  twice  what  you  paid,  or  perhaps  more.  Not  that 
my  clients  want  it,  but  I  think  it  will  be  worth  that 
eventually,  and  I  want  to  save  you  from  a  pitfall." 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  127 

"But,  Mr. — Mr.  Gorman,  wh — why  do  you  do  this 
for  us?"  stammered  Richard,  the  hand  on  his  weak 
chin  shaking  violently. 

"Because,"  and  Gorman  beamed  upon  him,  and  then 
upon  Mercedes,  into  whose  eyes  had  come  the  light 
of  understanding,  "because  I  like  you  both,  and  I  don't 
want  that  old  hypocrite  to  get  the  best  of  my  friends. 
To  show  my  good  faith,  and  to  assure  you  that  there 
will  be  no  greater  rise  in  value  than  I  have  offered,  I 
am  willing  to  sign  an  agreement  to  return  your  stock 
at  whatever  the  prevailing  market  prices  may  be  at  any 
time  during  the  next  year  or  two  years,  or  within  an 
even  longer  period,  if  you  wish." 

"Just  what  is  the  stock  selling  at  now?"  asked 
Richard. 

"I  have  the  latest  quotations  in  the  daily  papers. 
We'll  look  them  over  after  dinner,  and  perhaps  we  can 
come  to  terms. 

Mercedes  left  them  sitting  at  the  table,  smoking 
cigars  that  Gorman  had  brought,  and  went  to  her  bed- 
room to  think.  But  the  hum  of  voices  disturbed  her, 
and  she  went  out  of  doors  and  away  from  the  house. 
She  found  a  quiet  spot  overlooking  a  valley,  and  sat 
upon  a  log. 

She  noticed  how  badly  worn  her  dress  had  become 
at  the  knees.  Then  she  looked  at  her  shoes  that  had 
been  made  of  dainty  leather,  and  were  never  intended 
for  such  rough  usage  as  they  were  receiving.  They 
were  scarred  and  torn  by  brush  and  bramble  and 
stones.  She  did  not  know  when  she  could  have  a  new 
pair.  But  of  what  use  to  have  fine  shoes,  or  fine 
dresses,  or  anything  pretty  to  wear  if  one  must  always 
live  in  such  a  place?  Of  what  use  to  live  at  all,  if  one 


128  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

could  not  really  live?  She  covered  her  face  with  her 
hands,  and  sat  thus  meditating  for  she  knew  not  how 
long. 

****** 

Gorman's  mind,  like  that  of  any  great  captain,  leaped 
to  the  center  of  a  difficulty  when  once  he  decided  to  act. 
He  heard  Mercedes  leave  the  house,  and  he  watched 
through  a  window  as  her  graceful  form  disappeared 
among  the  trees.  Then  he  remarked,  "It  must  be 
lonely  for  you  and  Mrs.  Durkin  at  times." 

"Yes,  Mercedes  does  get  melancholy,  in  spite  of  all 
that  I  can  do,"  Richard  replied,  pouring  himself  his 
fourth  glass  of  brandy,  and  passing  the  decanter  to 
his  guest,  who  had  taken  but  one  drink. 

"I  would  like  to  see  you  both  resume  your  proper 
place  in  society,"  Gorman  added,  covertly  watching 
the  other  from  under  half  closed  eyelids,  while  with 
seeming  carelessness  he  blew  a  cloud  of  smoke  ceiling- 
ward.    "Mercedes  is  such  a  charming  woman." 

Richard  struck  a  match,  relit  his  cigar,  and  glanced 
out  of  the  window,  as  he  responded,  "It  is  very  good 
of  you,  Mr.  Gorman,  to  take  such  an  interest  in  us." 

Months  of  outdoor  life  had  entirely  removed  the 
marks  of  dissipation  from  his  face.  Gorman  had  heard 
that  he  had  not  only  wasted  his  money  in  gambling  and 
drink,  but  had  spent  not  a  little  of  it  in  the  pursuit  of 
women.  And  it  had  become  a  maxim  with  the  cap- 
italist that  an  immoral  or  a  dissipated  man  is  much 
more  easily  influenced  to  do  things  for  a  money  con- 
sideration than  one  free  from  such  weaknesses. 

Had  Durkin  resented,  by  word  or  tone,  the  use  of 
his  wife's  Christian  name,  or  had  he  even  looked 
straight  at  him  as  he  replied,  Gorman  would  have  felt 
vastly  more   doubtful  of  success.     But  the  younger 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  129 

man's  eyes  continued  to  roam  about  the  room,  studying 
now  the  antlers  of  a  buck  above  the  fireplace,  now  the 
two  great  flat  rocks  which  composed  the  hearth,  now 
the  design  of  the  rug  at  his  feet,  now  the  rafters,  now 
the  piano,  then  the  details  of  the  furniture,  and  finally 
the  decanter,  for  which  he  reached  again. 

The  apartment  in  which  they  sat  was  at  once  the 
dining  room,  library  and  parlor.  When  the  dinner 
dishes  were  taken  away,  the  tablecloth  was  replaced 
by  a  piece  of  tapestry.  Much  of  the  furniture  in  this 
room  had  been  owned  by  Mercedes'  parents,  and  many 
of  her  earliest  recollections  were  associated  with  it. 
There  were  four  Heppelwhite  chairs,  beautifully 
carved,  the  kind  of  which  the  old  Southern  aris- 
tocracy was  so  fond ;  in  one  corner  the  lowboy,  with 
shell  and  fluted  columns,  the  cabriole  legs  carved  at  the 
knees,  and  with  claw  and  ball  feet;  the  sofa,  with 
eagle's  wings  for  arms  and  lion's  claws  for  feet.  But 
there  was  nothing  eagle-like  or  lion-like  in  the  master 
of  this  house. 

"I  could  procure  your  election  to  the  board  of  direct- 
ors of  the  telephone  system,  if  you  cared  to  become 
interested  in  that  business  later,"  Gorman  continued. 
"Of  course,  you  would  have  to  hold  a  considerable 
amount  of  stock — say  fifty  thousand  or  so — but  I 
could  buy  it  in  your  name,  and  you  might  make  a  small 
payment,  of  about  five  thousand,  to  bind  the  bargain." 

"But  I'll  need  all  I  make  in  South  Union  to  get  a 
decent  start  in  business  in  Philadelphia,"  protested 
Richard,  lighting  a  fresh  cigar  that  was  handed  him. 

"Oh,  I'll  see  that  your  profit  on  that  is  twenty-five 
thousand." 

Durkin  glanced  quickly  at  him,  met  a  steady,  inscru- 
table look  in  return,  and  shifted  his  glance  again  to  the 


130  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

antlers,  to  the  rug,  to  the  ceiling,  to  the  sofa,  and  to 
the  decanter,  from  which  he  poured  more  brandy. 

"I  understood  you  to  say  a  while  ago,"  his  tempter 
went  on  in  even  tones,  taking  another  small  drink  to 
keep  him  company,  "that  you  had  to  make  a  trip  to 
the  valley  this  afternoon  to  loan  one  of  your  horses  to 
a  friend.  Don't  let  me  detain  you,  though  I'll  be  sorry 
not  to  have  you  here.  But  I'm  tired  and  want  to  rest, 
and  perhaps  I  can  pass  the  time  comfortably." 

The  husband  did  not  look  at  him  this  time,  as  he 
stammered :  "By — by  the  old  Harry,  I  was  about  to — 
to  forget  that.  Glad  you  reminded  me.  And  that  tel- 
ephone offer — you — you're  good  to  help  me  out.  It's 
good  of  you — really  it's  good  of  you — ah,  here's  Mer- 
cedes returning.    I'll  tell  her  I  must  be  off." 


CHAPTER   X 

A  TEMPTATION  ON   A   MOUNTAIN   TOP 

Mercedes  was  walking  slowly,  listlessly,  toward  the 
house,  when  Richard,  shaking  off  the  lethargic  effects 
of  the  brandy,  hurriedly  emerged  from  the  front  door 
and  greeted  her. 

"I  had  almost  forgotten  my  promise  to  lend  Dolly 
to  Tom  Denton  this  afternoon,"  he  said,  hastily.  "He 
wants  her  for  a  fox  hunt  to-morrow.  I'll  take  her,  and 
ride  the  other  horse.  I  ought  to  be  back  by  supper 
time.  You  can  show  Mr.  Gorman  about  or — or  sing  , 
him  a  song,  and — entertain  him  till  I  get  back,  won't 
you?" 

He  looked  away  as  her  eyes  met  his,  and  he  stam- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  131 

mered  out  the  latter  part  of  his  speech.  Then  he  went 
closer  to  her  and  said,  in  low  tones :  "He  thinks  he 
may  give  us  forty-five  thousand  for  the  stock,  and  we 
must  be  pleasant  to  him.  Think  of  what  it  means  to 
us !"  Turning  with  her  and  walking  toward  their 
guest,  who  had  followed  at  a  distance,  he  continued  in 
louder  accents : 

"I  hate  to  run  away  like  this,  Mercedes,  but  you 
know  how  good  Denton  has  been  to  us.  You  under- 
stand, Mr.  Gorman,  that  it's  an  urgent  case.  But  we 
hope  you'll  stay  several  days,  and  make  a  good  visit 
while  you're  here." 

He  ran  to  the  stable  and  soon  returned,  riding  a 
large  roan  and  leading  a  smaller  horse  of  a  wiry  and 
powerful  build.  He  waved  his  hat  in  adieu  as  he  rode 
past,  and  soon  disappeared  down  the  mountain  road, 
leaving  his  wife  and  Gorman  "".anding  together. 

As  soon  as  the  hoof  beats  had  died  away,  Mercedes 
forced  a  smile,  and  turning  toward  him,  asked  if  he 
would  not  come  into  the  house. 

"Everything  is  so  beautiful  out  of  doors  that  it 
makes  a  more  appropriate  background  for  yourself," 
he  responded.  "But  I  will  gladly  come  in  if  you  will 
sing  one  of  your  Southern  songs.  I  have  always 
wanted  to  hear  you  sing." 

She  avoided  his  gaze  as  she  replied  that  she  would 
be  pleased  to  try,  although  her  voice  was  not  in  the 
best  of  condition.  She  led  the  way  in,  and  sat  down  at 
the  piano.  Her  fingers  rippled  softly  over  the  keys,  and 
then  in  a  rich  soprano  voice  she  began  the  slow,  liquid, 
pulsing  notes  of  a  negro  lullaby.  It  was  full  of  sooth- 
ing measures  and  suggestive  of  balmy  breezes  and 
waving  fronds,  the  scent  of  magnolias  and  the  gentle 
lap  of  waves  upon  a  sandy  shore  in  the  moonlight. 


132  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

Gorman,  upon  the  sofa  opposite,  drank  in  the  mel- 
ody in  delight.  When  it  was  ended  he  begged  for 
another  song,  and  then  she  sang  a  livelier  air,  full  of 
the  rollicking,  carefree  spirit  of  the  Southland  in  the 
olden,  golden  days  of  its  power.  There  was  might  and 
majesty  in  the  swing  of  it,  love  of  wine  and  woman 
and  song  in  the  ring  of  it,  and  her  voice  was  clear  toned 
and  vibrant  as  a  bell.  Her  listener  would  have  given 
one  of  his  millions  if  at  that  moment  she  had  come 
floating  toward  him  across  the  billows  of  joyous  sound 
and  told  him  that  she  was  his. 

Before  the  song  ceased  he  had  partly  risen  from  his 
seat,  but  just  then  the  form  of  Matilda,  the  serving 
maid,  darkened  the  door.  She  had  come  for  direc- 
tions about  the  evening  meal.  Mercedes  left  the  room 
for  a  time,  and  when  she  returned  he  asked  her  to  go 
for  a  stroll  about  the  mountain  top.  If  she  refused, 
he  would  feel  that  his  long  journey  had  been  in  vain. 

She  stood  thinking  for  a  moment,  with  downcast 
eyes.    Then,  "How  far  do  you  wish  to  go?"  she  asked. 

"Oh,  anywhere  that  you  will  take  me,"  he  said. 
"There  must  be  some  beautiful  scenery  hereabouts. 
And  it  is  so  pleasant  out  of  doors,  anyhow." 

''Wait  till  I  get  a  shawl.  In  the  evening  here  it  gets 
so  much  cooler." 

She  hurried  to  her  room,  and  left  him  thinking  upon 
the  word  "evening"  and  the  delightful  possibilities  it 
suggested.  The  sun  was  still  blazing  high  in  the 
heavens,  for  it  was  only  mid-afternoon.  Did  she  mean 
to  stay  out  with  him  until  the  shades  of  evening  fell? 
But  then,  he  regretfully  recalled  that  in  the  South 
"evening"  meant  any  time  after  the  noon  hour. 

He  was  sauntering  about  among  the  pines  some 
yards  from  the  house  when  she  came  to  the  door,  car- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  133 

rying  on  one  arm  a  mantilla  of  a  soft,  fleecy  material. 
She  was  bareheaded,  and  her  hair,  parted  in  the  middle, 
hung  loosely  on  either  side,  the  ends  reposing  in  grace- 
ful coils  at  the  back  of  her  neck.  Very  few  women 
can  look  attractive  with  their  hair  arranged  in  that 
style.  Mercedes,  with  her  plentiful  tresses  and  her 
well  shaped  head,  could  afford  to  be  disdainful  of  the 
fashion  of  wearing  bangs,  then  in  vogue.  Her  wealth 
of  hair  was  not  the  least  of  her  charms  to  him.  As 
the  growth  upon  his  own  head  gradually  diminished, 
his  admiration  for  hair  upon  feminine  heads  rose  in 
proportion. 

"I  know  a  nice,  big  rock  where  we  can  sit  and  view 
the  river  in  the  southern  valley,"  she  said,  leading  him 
over  a  barely  discernible  path  among  the  underbrush. 
The  rock  was  about  half  a  mile  distant,  and  they 
walked  slowly,  vet  they  arrived  much  too  soon,  he 
thought.  She  clambered  up  ahead  of  him.  and  when 
he  reached  her  side  she  pointed  out  the  Shenandoah, 
winding  in  and  out  among  the  rocks  far  below,  and 
seeming  no  larger  than  a  silvery  serpent.  He  removed 
his  light  overcoat,  and  folded  and  placed  it  for  her  to 
sit  upon. 

She  still  wore  the  blue  jersey,  which  clung  to  her 
supple  figure.  It  was  what  was  suggested  yet  con- 
cealed rather  than  what  was  revealed  that  lent  charm. 
This  is  ever  the  rule,  even  among  savages.  A  recently 
returned  traveler  tells  of  the  Kavirondos.  in  British 
East  Africa,  the  women  among  whom  wear  no  dress 
whatever,  nor  even  any  ornament  other  than  a  string 
of  beads  about  the  waist.  And  yet  they  will  "neither 
clothe  their  nakedness  nor  surrender  "their  integrity 
without  due  ceremony,  and  then  only  to  one  of  their 
own  blood."    But  among  their  sisters  of  the  Baganda 


134  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

tribe  in  Uganda  there  is  a  little  more  dress,  coupled 
with  far  less  virtue.  The  Baganda  ladies  wear  what 
the  traveler  describes  as  a  most  fetching  evening  cos- 
tume called  the  laso,  a  garment  that  is  wound  tightly 
about  the  body  from  a  little  below  the  hips  to  just 
above  the  swell  of  the  breasts,  the  arms  and  shoulders 
remaining  bare.  And  the  moral  condition  of  these  peo- 
ple is  such  that  they  would  speedily  die  out  were  not 
their  numbers  constantly  recruited  by  raids  upon  other 
tribes. 

For  a  time  Gorman  could  only  sit  and  gaze  raptur- 
ously at  his  fair  companion  as  she  sat  with  hands 
clasped  about  her  knees.  He  had  found  as  he  grew 
older  and  became  more  and  more  absorbed  in  business 
schemes  that  his  ability  in  lovemaking  grew  less  and 
less,  though  his  desires  abated  none.  Mercedes  talked 
on  about  the  river,  the  birds,  the  autumn  foliage,  and 
the  near  approach  of  winter,  while  he  made  replies  in 
monosyllables.  But  when  she  mentioned  her  dread  of 
loneliness  he  was  inspired  to  say,  "Yes,  you  will  be 
very,  very  lonely,  I  should  think,  up  here  away  from  ail 
your  friends.  I  should  so  like  to  see  you  back  in 
society,  where  you  belong." 

He  looked  down  at  her  shoes,  and  rejoiced  that  they 
appeared  much  worn,  and  he  looked  at  her  dress  and 
was  glad  that  it  was  shabby.  The  greater  her  need, 
the  easier  should  be  his  conquest. 

"Well,  I  just  can't  understand  your  interest  in  me, 
Mr.  Gorman,"  she  replied,  keeping  her  eyes  averted. 

"My  dear  Mrs.  Dnrkin,"  he  began,  then  continued, 
feverishly,  "Mercedes — may  I  call  you  Mercedes  ? — ah, 
yes,  let  me  call  you  Mercedes.  I  was  interested  in  you 
from  the  very  first  moment  I  saw  you.     It  was  before 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  135 

the  Hudsons'  ball.  It  was  at  the  opera.  I  sat  opposite 
you.  Patti  was  singing,  but  I  could  not  hear  her  while 
I  looked  at  you.  A  week  later  I  attended  that  ball 
just  to  meet  you.  I  have  thought  of  you,  dreamed  of 
you,  every  moment  since." 

He  moved  nearer,  and  attempted  to  take  her  hand, 
but  she  drew  it  out  of  his  reach.  "And  now  that  I  see 
my  way  to  aiding  you  and  your  husband,"  he  ran  on, 
"won't  you  let  me  help  you  back  to  your  proper  place 
in  life?  I  will  do  more  than  I  promised  him.  I  will 
make  you  a  queen  of  society,  as  you  are  fitted  to  be. 
I  will  settle  upon  you  an  income  fit  for  a  duchess.  You 
will  be  the  most  splendid  woman  in  America.  You 
shall " 

She  had  kept  her  eyes  averted  during  most  of  this 
plea,  but  now  she  turned  and  looked  at  him.  At  this, 
his  words  ceased,  and  he  gazed  beseechingly  at  her. 
She  was  thinking  how  much  less  repulsive  young  Her- 
bert De  Blick  would  have  been  in  his  place.  But  her 
lot  in  life  had  become  unbearable  to  her,  and  the  man 
before  her  offered  the  keys  to  an  earthly  paradise.  The 
sun  had  gone  behind  a  cloud,  and  his  back  was  toward 
it  and  his  face  partly  in  the  shadow,  so  that  it  did  not 
seem  so  monstrous,  so  Satanic,  after  all.  If  she  had 
been  wise  and  philosophic  she  might  have  compared 
herself  with  the  Man  in  sacred  history  who  was  taken 
upon  a  mountain  and  offered  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth. 
But  she  was  a  woman,  and  she  knew  no  philosophy 
except  to  live  and  enjoy  life.  Yet  she  resisted  when 
he  seized  her  hand  and  then,  and  then — the  sun  came 
from  behind  the  cloud,  gilding  anew  the  autumn  foli- 
age, and  touching  with  an  added  glory  the  crags  and 
peaks  about  them.  And  the  rays  which  gave  thus 
lavishly   of  beauty   to   nature's   charms,    struck   with 


136  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

pitiless  brilliancy  the  rainbow-hued,  passion-distorted 
face  of  Gorman  as  he  attempted  to  seize  her  in  his 
arms.  And  after  one  look,  filled  with  loathing  and  ter- 
ror, she  tore  herself  from  his  clutch,  and  crying,  "No, 
no!  Never!"  turned  and  fled  down  the  path  toward 
home. 

END  OF  BOOK  SECOND 


BOOK   THIRD 
GORDON  LYLE 


CHAPTER    I 

FOUR  YEARS  IN  JOURNALISM 

On  a  spring  day  in  the  year  1890,  there  sat  in  Union 
Square,  New  York,  a  pale,  melancholy  young  man. 
His  coat  was  frayed,  his  trousers  shiny,  and  his  shoes 
showed  signs  of  wear.  But  while  he  was  melancholy, 
he  did  not  lounge  dejectedly,  with  hat  drawn  over  his 
eyes,  like  many  others  of  the  impoverished  class  who 
were  in  the  majority  among  those  on  the  park  benches. 
His  hat  was  off  and  his  head  was  thrown  back,  and 
he  even  smiled  at  times,  though  rather  wistfully,  as  he 
sat  with  arms  outstretched  upon  the  back  of  the  bench, 
absorbing  the  sunshine. 

Not  a  few  young  women  glanced  at  him  more  than 
once  as  they  passed.  It  may  have  been  his  tawny  hair, 
which  fell  in  wavelets  over  his  brow,  or  his  almost 
classic  features,  or  his  idealistic  gray-blue  eyes,  or  it 
may  have  been  all  of  these  together  which  attracted 
them.  But  their  glances  were  not  returned.  He  feared 
that  they  were  looking  at  his  shabby  attire.  Besides, 
his  attention  was  largely  taken  up  by  the  sparrows. 
There  were  dozens  of  these  little  creatures,  and  they 

137 


138  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

were  most  industriously  engaged  in  a  variety  of  ways : 
drinking  from  the  fountain  about  which  the  benches 
were  ranged,  or  looking  for  worms  among  the  freshly 
planted  tulip  beds,  or  quarreling  over  crumbs  of  cake 
'  thrown  among  them  by  little  children,  or  picking  up 
bits  of  string  with  which  to  make  nests  for  a  summer 
brood,  chirping  nuptial  songs  the  while. 

It  was  the  antics  of  the  birds  that  brought  occasional 
smiles  to  the  young  man's  face.  They  helped  to  dis- 
tract his  mind  from  gloomy  reflections.  He  compared 
their  petty  troubles  with  the  fortunes  and  misfortunes 
of  humanity.  "After  all,"  he  thought,  "while  we  are 
physically  so  much  larger,  are  human  affairs  more 
important  in  the  sum  of  things  than  theirs  ?  That  cock 
sparrow  who  has  just  whipped  the  bird  that  tried  to 
steal  a  piece  of  string  from  his  mate  is  quite  as  heroic 
as  any  man  who  goes  to  battle  for  the  sake  of  those 
he  loves.  By  that  fight  the  sparrow  missed  a  chance 
to  share  in  the  distribution  of  cake  by  that  little  girl. 
And  he  was  more  worthy  of  the  cake  than  those  who 
enjoyed  it.  Yet  he  is  none  the  less  glorious  without 
a  reward.  And  it  is  more  important  to  be  worthy  o'f 
a  reward  than  to  receive  it." 

With  this  thought  came  a  glow  of  satisfaction  which 
lighted  up  his  face.  Gordon  Lyle  had  need  of  such 
philosophy  just  now.  A  week  before  he  had  been 
discharged  from  a  position  that  he  had  held  for  only 
two  months,  a  time  barely  long  enough  to  enable  him 
to  pay  off  debts  formed  in  three  months  of  idleness. 
This  made  the  second  position  within  the  year  that  he 
had  lost  for  doing  what  he  believed — aye,  what  he 
knew  to  be  right.  He  was  a  newspaper  writer,  and 
in  both  instances  he  had  been  assigned  to  write  of  polit- 
ical corruption.     The  first  time  he  had  followed  the 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  139 

trail  until  it  led  to  the  doors  of  the  closest  friends  of 
the  paper's  owners.  The  next  time,  while  working  for 
another  paper,  the  trail  was  taking  him  near  to  the  door 
of  the  owner  himself,  when  he  was  told  to  cease  his 
investigations. 

But  in  neither  case  had  he  hesitated.  He  had  in- 
sisted upon  writing  all  the  facts,  and  when  these  were 
not  used  by  his  editor,  he  had  given  them  to  a  reform 
weekly.  Each  time  his  discharge  had  quickly  followed. 
The  weekly  paper  could  not  afford  to  pay  him  any- 
thing, and  his  only  compensation  was  the  knowledge 
that  he  had  helped  to  spread  the  truth. 

Gordon  Lyle  had  left  college  four  years  earlier,  when 
he  was  twenty-two  years  old,  to  follow  "the  profession 
of  journalism."  That  was  what  he  liked  to  think  it, 
and  that  was  what  he  called  it  until  his  co-workers 
ridiculed  him  out  of  thinking  that  journalism  was  a 
profession.  His  associates  did  not  like  even  the  term 
"journalism."  They  called  their  vocation  "the  news- 
paper business,"  and  they  spoke  of  themselves  as 
"newspaper  men."  Many  of  them  said  they  were 
"noospaper  men." 

Three  years  in  journalistic  work  in  smaller  cities 
had  destroyed  many  of  the  illusions  with  which  he  had 
left  college.  His  father,  a  professor  of  history  in  the 
institution  he  attended,  had  been  a  warm  admirer  of 
Horace  Greeley,  and  by  his  conversation  with  others 
about  the  great  editor,  rather  than  by  any  direct  advice, 
had  instilled  in  his  son's  mind  an  ambition  to  be  a  jour- 
nalist. His  father  had  died  when  Gordon's  college 
course  was  little  more  than  half  finished,  and  his  in- 
valid mother  had  soon  afterward  followed  her  husband 
to  the  grave.  The  father's  salary  had  been  the  family's 
only  income,  and  out  of  the  money  from  his  insurance 


140  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

policy,  after  the  expenses  of  the  two  funerals  were 
paid,  there  remained  barely  enough  for  Gordon  to  com- 
plete that  year's  term  in  school. 

The  day  after  the  close  of  college  the  student  went 
to  the  office  of  the  Wasp,  one  of  the  two  local  daily 
papers,  and  was  hired  at  ten  dollars  a  week  to  report 
suburban  news.  The  city  of  Denver  itself  had  but 
100,000  inhabitants,  so  that  there  was  little  chance  to 
achieve  journalistic  greatness  in  its  suburbs.  But  by 
the  end  of  two  years  Gordon  had  progressed  farther 
than  the  average  reporter  usually  did.  He  had  passed 
through  all  the  grades  of  reportorial  work,  and  had 
become  the  writer  of  City  Hall  news. 

It  was  here  that  his  illusions  began  to  suffer  most 
severely.  Every  newspaper  office  is  a  school  of  cyni- 
cism, differing  only  in  degree,  and  he  now  saw  why 
the  reporters  of  riper  experience  than  himself  had 
always  looked  skeptical  and  talked  cynically  about 
reform  movements  undertaken  by  newspapers.  The 
City  Hall  of  Denver  had  just  been  reformed.  That  is, 
one  set  of  politicians  had  been  voted  out  and  another 
set,  favored  by  the  Wasp,  had  been  voted  in.  The  Wasp 
assured  its  readers  that  good  government  for  the  next 
two  years  was  now  certain. 

The  Wasp  was  owned  by  a  Jew  who  had  come  to 
America  as  an  immigrant  from  Hungary,  and  had 
worked  his  way  up  from  the  ranks  of  printers  to  the 
ownership  of  a  newspaper  worth  a  quarter  of  a  million 
dollars.  The  growth  of  the  city  to  four  times  the  size 
it  boasted  when  he  had  first  entered  it  as  a  tramp 
printer  twenty  years  earlier  had  of  course  made  possi- 
ble his  rise  to  wealth  and  power.  But  his  native  abil- 
ity had  more  to  do  with  it.  And  after  business  success 
had   come   political   ambition.     He   wanted  to  be   a 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  141 

United  States  Senator.  This  was  aiming  high  for  one 
whose  father  had  been  a  butcher  in  Budapest,  but 
America  was  the  land  of  opportunity.  He  had  often 
championed  reformatory  movements,  sometimes  mildly, 
at  other  times  strongly,  and  thus  had  won  a  large  meas- 
ure of  the  public  confidence.  There  were  those  who 
whispered  that  his  paper  usually  kept  strangely  silent 
about  certain  public  wrongs,  notably  those  committed 
by  the  railway  power,  but  the  clamor  he  raised  about 
other  and  lesser  forms  of  corruption  created  a  chorus 
of  praise  in  which  these  whisperings  were  drowned. 

Gordon  Lyle  had  been  assigned  by  his  city  editor 
to  write  attacks  on  the  previous  Mayor  and  Council 
for  granting  favors  too  freely  to  gas,  paving,  electric 
light,  street  railway  and  other  public  service  corpora- 
tions. And  when  the  new  officials  were  elected  and 
they  began  to  show  favoritism  toward  the  same  inter- 
ests, he  wrote  similar  articles  against  them.  But  these 
articles  did  not  appear  in  print.  The  IV  asp  had  lost  its 
sting.  "Let  them  alone.  They're  the  owner's  friends 
now,"  the  city  editor  told  him,  and  when  he  continued 
to  write  the  attacks  he  was  reduced  to  the  work  of 
reporting  Sunday  school  picnics. 

"Old  Flosser,  your  boss,  owns  stock  in  most  of  those 
companies  himself  these  days,"  a  politician  told  him. 
"They  fixed  him  as  soon  as  they  saw  he  was  strong 
enough  to  rule  the  town's  politics."  He  was  told  that 
the  rival  newspaper,  until  then  conservative,  had  be- 
come reformatory  in  some  instances  because  its  propri- 
etor was  being  neglected  in  new  stock  distributions. 

He  refused  to  believe  these  things  at  first.  Particu- 
larly did  he  hate  to  admit,  even  to  himself,  that  Flosser 
was  corrupt.  Of  course,  all  reporters  on  his  paper,  as 
well  as  those  on  other  newspapers,  had  to  be  careful 


143  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

not  to  offend  big  advertisers,  and  some  of  Flosser's 
aids  had  been  discharged  for  writing  things  that  hurt 
the  feelings  of  such  advertisers.  But  that  was  not  cor- 
ruption. There  was  a  time,  though,  when  a  new 
department  store  in  Denver  would  not  patronize  the 
Wasp,  and  the  Wasp  had  criticized  its  methods 
severely  until  its  owners  began  to  advertise  again, 
when  the  criticisms  ceased.  This  worried  Gordon 
somewhat,  especially  since  he  had  written  some  of  the 
attacks.  Still,  this  was  not  exactly  corruption,  and  it 
might  be  explained  in  several  ways. 

But  Flosser  was  already  a  rich  man,  and  besides,  he 
was  a  man  of  the  people.  He  had  come  up  from  the 
lowest  round  of  the  social  ladder.  He  was,  moreover, 
of  that  race  of  pariahs  who  for  eighteen  centuries  had 
wandered  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  reviled  and  spat 
upon  because  their  ancestors  had  crucified  the  Man  of 
Sorrows.  No  land  could  this  race  claim  for  their  own. 
Many  nations  had  persecuted  and  driven  them  onward, 
and  none  had  accorded  them  more  than  grudging 
refuge  until  the  United  States  bade  them  welcome 
to  all  the  rights  of  citizenship.  A  million  and  a  half 
of  them,  or  one-fourth  as  many  as  all  Europe  con- 
tained, had  flocked  to  these  shores.  And  surely  if  any 
of  that  race  should  be  grateful  to  the  country  it  was 
Flosser.  Flosser  should  be  among  the  last  to  help 
undermine  the  institutions  of  a  people  that  had  made 
him  all  that  he  was. 

And  yet  Gordon  was  at  last  forced  to  believe  every- 
thing that  was  said  about  him,  for  there  was  no  evi- 
dence to  the  contrary.  And  several  weeks  after  he 
was  reduced  in  rank  he  decided  to  leave  Denver  and 
try  journalism  in  other  cities.    He  had  saved  a  hundred 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  143 

dollars   out   of   his   salary,   which   now   amounted   to 
twenty  dollars  a  week. 

He  had  long  yearned  to  be  a  journalist  in  the  nation's 
metropolis.  But  he  felt  incompetent  as  yet  to  work  for 
its  great  newspapers.  He  feared  that  he  must  serve 
an  apprenticeship  in  larger  cities  than  Denver  before 
he  could  aspire  to  write  of  the  big  events  that  trans- 
pired in  the  city  where  Greeley  had  founded  "the  first 
broadsheet  dynasty  in  America." 

He  went  first  to  St.  Louis,  then  to  Cincinnati,  then  to 
Pittsburgh,  working  three  months  in  the  first  city,  five 
months  in  the  second  and  four  in  the  last.    An  account 
of  his  experiences  in  that  year  would  have  made  a 
sordid  story,  illuminated  at  rare  intervals  by  exceptions 
to  the  general  rule  of  corruption.     His  memory  of  his 
career  thus  far  he  often  compared  with  a  brilliant  and 
variegated  tapestry.     Journalism  was  a  kaleidoscope 
through  which  he  had  seen  life  in  multifarious  phases. 
He  had  walked  with  governors  and  senators,  and  with 
burglars  and  pickpockets.     He  had  seen  joy  and  sor- 
row hold  the  stage  in  high  life  and  low  life.    He  had 
banqueted  with  the  elect  one  day,  and  had  been  ordered 
off  front  porches  by  butlers  and  chased  by  bulldogs 
the  next.    He  had  seen  men  nominated  for  high  office, 
and   inaugurated,   and  he  had   seen  other  men  con- 
demned to  death  and  executed.     He  had  heard  the 
shouts   of  victors   on  many  an  athletic   field  and  in 
many  a  convention  hall,  and  he  had  heard  the  groans  of 
the  dying  in  train  wrecks,  in  hospital  wards  and  in 
holocausts  of  fire  and  flood.     He  had  beheld  joyous 
weddings  and  brilliant  festivals,  and  he  had  watched 
while  victims  of  tragedies  gave  their  dying  gasps,  and 
had  heard  the  wails  of  the  newly  made  widows  and 
orphans. 


144  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

But  the  frequent  stifling  of  the  truth  when  it  affected 
the  material  interests  of  his  employers  had  soiled  this 
vari-hued  tapestry  of  memory  until  it  was  a  thing  he 
would  fain  have  forgotten.  Every  newspaper  he  had 
worked  upon  or  heard  about  was  either  more  corrupt 
or  less  corrupt  than  Flosser's.  Corruption  was  so 
common  among  them  that  many  of  the  workers  did 
not  think  it  corruption.  They  thought  it  merely  good 
business  enterprise.  For  the  owners  to  accept  passes 
from  railways  for  themselves  and  their  employes,  to 
take  shares  of  stock  in  corporations,  and  remain  silent 
about  abuses ;  to  protect  department  stores  and  other 
interests  that  advertised,  and  to  expose  public  wrongs 
only  when  the  owner's  interests  were  helped  or  at  least 
were  not  injured  thereby — these  things  were  the  rule 
in  journalism.  Four  times  in  that  year's  experiences 
in  the  three  cities  he  had  been  discharged  for  writing 
of  corruption  in  ways  that  offended  his  employers. 

He  had  found  conditions  in  Pittsburgh  worse  than 
anywhere  else,  but  worse  only,  he  thought,  because  the 
temptations  were  greater.  Besides  the  usual  forms 
of  corruption  were  the  favors  extended  by  the  owners 
of  the  steel  mills.  These  mills  were  immensely  profit- 
able, mainly  because  of  the  tariff  laws  that  enabled 
their  owners  to  charge  more  for  steel  in  America  than 
they  sold  it  for  abroad.  That  kind  of  corruption  ex- 
tended to  the  national  capital,  and  he  could  not  follow 
the  trail  so  far  as  yet.  He  observed,  however,  that  all 
of  the  Pittsburgh  papers  argued  in  favor  of  that  kind  of 
patriotism.  But  a  worse  manifestation  of  this  corrup- 
tion was  the  way  in  which  workers  were  killed  and 
maimed,  and  the  way  in  which  families  were  huddled 
in  loathsome,  disease  breeding  shacks.  Corrupt  offi- 
cials inspected  these  mills,  and  reported  them  properly 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  145 

managed,  and  yet  four  hundred  deaths  a  year  took  place 
in  them  ;  and  corrupt  health  officers  inspected  the  work- 
men's homes,  and  reported  them  sanitary,  and  yet  the 
mortality  in  these  homes  was  the  highest  in  the  coun- 
try. And  the  newspapers  said  little  about  these  condi- 
tions because  their  owners  drew  dividends  on  shares 
of  stock  in  the  mills,  and  grew  wealthy  enough  to 
send  their  families  touring  through  Europe.  He  had 
been  discharged  by  the  owner  of  the  Express,  an  untu- 
tored person  named  Hashman,  for  writing  an  article 
on  the  subject,  Some  of  these  newspaper  owners  were 
even  negotiating  for  titles  for  their  daughters  in  rivalry 
with  "railway  kings." 

Assuredly,  liberty  of  the  press  was  a  most  beneficent 
thing  for  some  persons  in  America,  Gordon  Lyle 
thought,  after  four  months  in  Pittsburgh. 


CHAPTER  II 


HE    SEES    A    VISION 


When  he  arrived  in  New  York  he  was  not  yet 
thoroughly  disillusioned.  "Surely,"  he  thought,  as  he 
looked  at  the  tall  buildings  that  housed  some  of  the 
more  important  papers,  "things  cannot  be  so  bad  in 
this  great  city — this  center  of  American  civilization 
and  culture,  where  such  large  profits  are  to  be  honestly 
made." 

He  had  heard  that  the  profits  of  the  leading  daily 
amounted  to  near  three-quarters  of  a  million  a  year. 
Four  or  five  other  papers  had  made  their  owners 
immensely  rich.    Every  daily  of  importance  had  corre- 


146  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

spondents  in  the  State  and  national  capitals,  and  in  one 
or  more  of  the  great  European  cities  as  well.  The  fact 
that  the  names  of  these  correspondents,  with  fewer 
and  fewer  exceptions,  were  no  longer  known  to  the 
public,  had  escaped  his  attention,  and  if  he  had  noticed 
it  he  would  probably  not  then  have  thought  much  about 
it.  To  be  a  great  journalist,  to  win  fame  thereby  if 
possible,  but  if  not,  to  be  a  great  journalist  anyhow — 
that  was  his  ambition. 

He  had  read  all  the  books  and  articles  about  jour- 
nalism that  he  could  obtain,  and  in  none  of  them  was 
much  said  of  corruption.  The  kind  of  corruption  that 
he  had  found  so  common  was  not  mentioned  at  all. 
But  he  read  of  rare  instances  of  the  bribery  with  money 
of  writers  and  editors,  and  of  more  frequent  instances 
of  bribes  being  indignantly  refused.  In  one  book  that 
he  saw  in  a  public  library  was  an  account  of  the  bribing 
of  many  of  the  correspondents  at  Washington  in  1867, 
when  the  bill  to  purchase  Alaska  from  Russia  was 
passed.  In  another  book  he  found  this  incident  vaguely 
referred  to,  with  the  comment:  "This  kind  of  thing 
could  hardly  happen  nowadays.  The  reason  is  that 
when  the  influence  of  Washington  correspondents  is 
wanted,  it  is  obtained  through  the  owners.  The  writ- 
ers, individually,  amount  to  nothing,  and  their  very 
names  are,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  unknown  out- 
side of  the  offices  that  employ  them." 

But  he  had  known  of  few  dishonest  writers.  There 
were,  of  course,  some  blackmailing  reporters  of  police 
news,  and  he  had  heard  of  an  occasional  crafty 
city  editor  who  would  make  an  appointment  to  meet 
a  politician  in  the  back  room  of  a  saloon,  and  there 
accept  a  bribe.  Still,  such  men  were  always  in  the 
minority  in  any  city.     In  most  instances,  anyone  who 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  i47 

tried  to  corrupt  an  editor  or  a  writer  would  be  ordered 
out  of  an  office,  and  if  he  did  not  go  he  would  be 
kicked  out.  But  he  had  never  heard  that  any  capitalist 
or  promoter  had  been  ordered  out  for  offering  a  news- 
paper owner  shares  of  stock. 

The  first  New  York  paper  he  had  worked  on  was 
influenced  to  stop  a  reform  crusade  by  a  block  of  stock 
in  a  street  railway  company.  The  second  had  yielded 
to  the  persuasion  contained  in  asphalt  trust  shares. 
Several  politicians  had  been  sent  to  prison  for  taking 
money  bribes  from  this  trust.  But  to  share  in  stock 
distributions  was  a  thing  that  did  not  seem  to  be 
widely  regarded  as  taking  a  bribe.  Besides,  who  was 
to  investigate  a  newspaper's  methods?  Public  officials 
were  generally  afraid  to  do  so.  There  was  the  danger 
of  arousing  the  passion  for  revenge,  and  a  newspaper 
had  a  legion  of  voices  to  cry  "Stop  thief!"  to  drown 
any  charges  against  itself.  And  newspapers  did  not 
print  such  things  about  each  other.    Why? 

"Hello,  Lyle.  What  are  you  dreaming  about  ?"  said 
a  familiar  voice  at  his  elbow,  as,  seated  on  the  park 
bench,  he  had  arrived  at  this  point  in  his  meditations. 
He  looked  round  and  saw  Jack  Holmes,  a  reporter  on 
the  Morning  Trumpet.  The  Trumpet,  the  last  paper 
on  which  he  had  worked,  was  one  of  the  oldest  and 
most  respected  dailies,  and  was  housed  in  its  own  build- 
ing of  twenty  stories  on  a  prominent  corner.  Its  pro- 
prietor lived  most  of  the  time  abroad,  cultivating 
acquaintances  among  the  European  aristocracy,  but  he 
kept  in  touch  with  his  paper  by  cable  everv  day.  It 
was  the  Trumpet  which  made  the  largest  profits  of  any 
paper  in  the  country,  and  this  had  caused  Gordon  to 
think  that  it  would  be  less  likely  to  yield  to  corrupt 
influences  than  any  other. 


148  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

Gordon  was  glad  to  see  the  friendly,  jovial  face  of 
Holmes.  He  regarded  him  as  one  of  the  better  sort  of 
reporters.  Holmes  had  not  a  great  deal  of  education 
or  culture — not  many  successful  reporters  had — and  he 
was  not  an  idealist.  But,  broadly  speaking,  he  was 
honest.  He  was  known  to  have  refused  bribes,  and 
when  a  dissipated  reportorial  friend,  in  a  fit  of  maudlin 
frankness,  had  confessed  to  having  taken  fifty  dollars 
for  suppressing  a  scandalous  story,  he  forthwith  cut 
his  acquaintance. 

"I'm  not  dreaming,"  Gordon  said,  in  response  to  his 
query.  "I'm  thinking  of  my  last  discharge.  Haven't 
you  heard?" 

"Not  a  word.  Just  got  in  this  morning  from  Con- 
necticut— that  murder  mystery,  you  know.  I'm 
awfully  sorry,  old  man.     What's  the  cause?" 

Gordon  gladly  poured  his  story  into  sympathetic 
ears.  Holmes  sat  down  by  his  side  and  lit  his  bulldog 
pipe,  puffing  stolidly  on  it  till  his  friend  ceased  speak- 
ing. 

"Well,  I  could  have  told  you  in  advance  what  your 
finish  would  be  in  such  a  case,"  he  commented.  "The 
trouble  with  you  is  that  you  take  things  too  seriously. 
Now,  a  newspaper  man  has  got  to  learn  to  obey  orders, 
like  a  solidier." 

"I'll  not  be  a  hired  soldier  in  a  bad  cause." 

"But  if  you're  going  to  inquire  into  motives  every 
time  you  receive  an  order,  you'll  never  get  very  far 
along  in  the  neAvspaper  business." 

"This  was  a  suspicious  ending  of  a  crusade,  and  if 
the  owner  wasn't  to  blame  he  ought  to  have  known 
what  his  editors  were  doing." 

"I  wouldn't  be  surprised  if  he  knew  about  it.  He 
watches  things  rather  closely.     This  asphalt  trust  is 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  149 

going  to  make  millions,  and  he  doesn't  object  to  having 
a  few  of  them  to  spend  on  his  titled  friends.  He  owns 
all  kinds  of  railway  and  telegraph  and  other  stocks, 
you  know — why  not  a  little  asphalt?" 

"It  is  wrong.  It  is  monstrous.  I'll  not  be  a  party 
to  it." 

"You  don't  have  to  be — directly.  A  soldier  isn't 
guilty  of  blackmail  when  his  country " 

"My  God,  Holmes!  Don't  compare  my  case  with 
that  of  a  soldier  fighting  for  his  country.  I  feel  like 
an  assistant  pirate." 

"Only  you  didn't  get  your  share,"  said  Holmes, 
smiling,  as  he  emptied  the  ashes  from  his  pipe.  Then 
he  turned  and  looked  at  his  friend.  He  observed  his 
pale,  earnest  face,  and  his  worn  and  shiny  clothing, 
and  he  felt  respect  for  him.  It  was  the  respect  which 
an  inferior  soul  feels  upon  recognizing  a  superior  soul, 
to  whose  heights  it  cannot  attain.  He  had  been  about 
to  say,  "You're  a  fool,  Gordon  Lyle.  Go  and  get 
another  job,  if  you  can,  follow  instructions,  and  keep 
your  mouth  shut  about  the  queer  doings  of  your  em- 
ployers, and  you'll  wear  good  clothes  and  never  be  out 
of  work."  Instead,  he  asked  in  a  kindly  tone,  "What 
are  you  going  to  do  next,  old  man  ?" 

"I  don't  know  what  to  do,"  replied  Gordon,  slowly. 
"None  of  the  papers  have  an  opening,  so  they  tell  me. 
Perhaps  I  can  sweep  out  hallways  for  a  chance  to 
sleep  in  them,  and  empty  garbage  cans  for  the  priv- 
ilege of  ravaging  their  contents." 

"Great  Jehosaphat!  Things  are  not  so  bad  as  that, 
are  they  ?" 

"Almost.  I  owe  a  week's  room  rent,  and  I  have 
eighty-seven  cents  left.  I  know  a  place  on  the  Bowery 
where  you  can  get  coffee  and  rolls  for  five  cents.    That 


150  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

will  do  for  a  breakfast.  And  I  can  get  a  dinner  for 
ten  cents  at  the  same  place.  Thus  I  can  live  six  days 
upon  my  present  funds  if  my  landlady  doesn't  learn 
that  I  have  been  discharged,  and  put  me  out  before 
then.  Anyhow,  spring  has  come,  and  I  can  rest  on 
park  benches  at  night." 

"Where  is  your  watch?" 

"Still  in  pawn.  I  put  it  in  after  I  was  separated 
from  the  Planet's  pay  roll." 

Holmes  took  a  card  case  from  an  inside  pocket  of 
his  tweed  coat,  opened  it,  and  extracted  a  ten-dollar 
bill.  He  extended  this  toward  Gordon,  who  shook  his 
head. 

"Take  it,  old  man,"  he  said.  "I  don't  need  it,  really. 
I'm  one  of  the  kind  that  never  get  fired — too  damned 
much  like  a  faithful  plough  horse,  I  guess.  Or,  maybe 
a  more  up  to  date  thing  to  compare  me  with  is  a  piece 
of  machinery  that  never  breaks  down  nor  talks  back. 
Take  this,  I  say,  and  when  you  need  more,  let  me 
know.  I  saved  it  on  my  expense  account  on  this  last 
trip,  so  it's  pure  velvet — went  to  a  cheap  hotel  and 
used  the  telephone  instead  of  paying  cab  fare  in  that 
jay  Connecticut  town.  And  say,  call  me  up  by  'phone 
to-morrow.  I've  heard  rumors  about  a  new  paper  to 
be  started,  and  it'll  mean  a  lot  of  new  jobs." 

Gordon  reluctantly  took  the  bill,  and  Holmes,  after 
a  hasty  handshake,  hurried  away,  leaving  him  to  his 
meditations.  Through  the  branches  of  the  maples, 
just  then  bursting  into  leafage  after  a  winter  of  sur- 
passing cold,  he  caught  glimpses  of  Bartholdi's  bronze 
statue  of  Lafayette.  Upon  the  hilt  of  the  sword  a  robin 
perched  and  thrilled  a  joyous  madrigal.  "A  lesson  to 
humanity  in  that,"  he  thought.  "A  song  of  happiness 
instead  of  the  sword  uplifted  to  strike. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  151 

"But  do  we  need  such  lessons  in  America  as  yet?" 
he  mused  on,  in  another  vein.  "Perhaps  we  have  too 
much  slothful  peace,  and  that  may  account  for  our 
sordid  commercialism.  War  is  terrible,  but  it  rouses 
men  to  noble  deeds,  and  brings  out  the  finer  feelings, 
such  as  self-sacrifice,  chivalry,  devotion  to  ideals.  Men 
learn  to  care  less  for  their  bodies  in  sacrificing  them  for 
abstract  principles,  and  this  benefits  their  souls " 

Here  his  meditations  came  to  a  sudden  halt,  for, 
upon  raising  his  eyes  to  a  line  of  carriages  passing 
northward  in  Broadway,  he  saw  a  beautiful,  dark-eyed 
woman  looking  at  him.  Her  gaze,  which  had  been 
concentrated  upon  him  while  her  victoria  went  the 
length  of  the  square,  had  irresistibly  drawn  his  eyes 
in  her  direction.  And  she  was  actually  smiling  at  him", 
this  radiant  vision.  But  just  then  her  driver  whipped 
up  his  horses,  and  her  carriage  quickly  disappeared 
beyond  the  line  of  buildings  to  the  north. 

Gordon  had  half  risen  from  his  seat,  but  he  now  sank 
back,  trembling,  his  mind  a  tumult  in  which  happiness 
and  despair  were  blended.  He  had  looked  into  Para- 
dise for  a  moment,  and  then  the  gates  had  closed,  shut- 
ting him  out,  seemingly  forever. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE  MOONLIGHT  CLUB 


Gordon  was  not  lacking  in  friends  during  his  exile 
from  employment.  A  strong  spirit  of  comradeship 
pervades  a  large  part  of  newspaperdom.  When  the 
reason  for  his  discharge  became  known  in  the  Trumpet 


152  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

office  a  fierce  though  secret  resentment  flamed  up  in 
many  breasts.  No  one  else  would  have  gone  so  far  as 
he  in  attacking  corruption.  But  genuine  moral  courage 
is  admired  even  by  those  who  least  possess  it.  And 
every  one  in  the  office  felt  a  sympathy  for  him,  includ- 
ing the  city  editor,  who  had  reluctantly  discharged  him 
after  consulting  with  the  managing  editor,  who  cabled 
a  report  to  the  owner,  who  was  then  traveling  in 
Europe,  and  who  cabled  back  orders  to  take  summary 
action. 

Jack  Holmes  thought  about  the  affair  until  he  raged 
inwardly.  Then  he  talked  of  it  among  the  reporters 
and  sub-editors,  known  as  copy  readers,  until  a  dozen 
of  them  united  in  raising  a  purse  of  seventy  dollars  for 
the  victim.  When  Gordon  telephoned  to  Holmes  sev- 
eral days  later,  he  was  asked  to  come  to  a  cafe  near 
the  Trumpet  office,  where  the  money  was  handed  to 
him. 

"Now,  don't  refuse  it,  old  man,"  said  Holmes. 
"Consider  it  a  loan,  if  you  wish.  Here's  a  list  of  the 
contributors.  Johnson  heads  it,  you  see,  and  then  there 
are  Jones,  Haskins,  O'Donnell,  Williams,  Britt,  Gallo- 
way, Smith  and  the  others.  I've  put  down  their  con- 
tributions opposite  their  names.  You'll  need  the 
money,  I  think,  for  no  city  editor  as  yet  seems  to  want 
to  hire  you.  You  may  be  blacklisted  this  time,  you 
know,  and  may  not  be  able  even  to  place  Sunday 
features." 

Gordon  surveyed  his  soiled  collar  and  frayed  cloth- 
ing in  a  mirror  on  the  opposite  wall  and,  muttering 
heartfelt  thanks,  slowly  pocketed  the  roll  of  bills. 

"How  about  the  rumors  of  a  new  paper?"  he  asked, 
putting  the  list  of  contributors  in  his  card  case  for 
future  reference. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  153 

"Oh,  there's  little  yet  but  rumors.  I  think,  though, 
that  it  will  be  a  live  proposition,  for  there  must  be 
something  in  so  much  talk.  I  heard  to-day  that  it's 
a  millionaire  from  the  West  who  is  coming  to  start 
a  sensational  sheet  along  new  lines.  The  other  day, 
rumor  had  him  from  Boston.  Meanwhile,  since  you 
have  time  on  your  hands,  and  to-morrow  is  my  night 
off,  won't  you  come  to  the  Moonlight  Club  with  me? 
I  know  you're  not  much  on  bohemianism,  but  there'll 
be  some  really  clever  people  there  this  time,  and  some 
nice  dames  as  well  that  you  may  like  to  meet." 

And  that  was  how  Gordon  chanced  to  be  at  the 
Moonlight  Club's  monthly  dinner  the  next  evening. 
The  Moonlight  Club  was  one  of  the  most  "advanced" 
of  the  several  dozens  of  bohemian  clubs  in  the  metropo- 
lis. Being  bohemian,  it  appropriately  enough  had  no 
home,  but  held  its  meetings  at  a  different  public  res- 
taurant each  month,  where  course  dinners  were  served 
to  members  and  guests  at  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  a  plate. 
Actors,  newspaper  men,  law  clerks,  writers  of  short 
stories  for  magazines,  and  a  Jewish  playwright  who 
had  a  successful  play  to  his  credit  were  among  the 
members.  Most  of  the  other  members  were  writers 
of  unpublished  novels,  and  authors  of  plays  not  yet 
produced. 

The  "guests"  were  generally  such  persons  as  the 
club's  president  had  heard  possessed  the  price  of  a  din- 
ner, a  percentage  of  which  in  each  case  went  to  the 
president,  unknown  to  the  "guests."  Many  of  these 
were  of  the  curious  minded  sort  who  were  attracted 
by  the  glamour  of  Bohemia.  They  fondly  believed  that 
in  attending  the  club  dinners,  they  were  getting 
glimpses  into  that  rare  and  beautiful  land  where 
geniuses    dwell,    where    coruscations    of    happy    wit 


154  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

abound,  and  where  the  flowers  of  poetic  imaginations 
luxuriate  for  the  delectation  of  all  comers.  They  did 
not  know,  and  the  guests  of  the  scores  of  similar  clubs 
which  have  since  sprung  up  in  New  York  do  not  know 
that  real  bohemians  always  shun  such  an  affair  if  they 
know  its  character  in  advance. 

Gordon  had  gone  to  the  dinners  of  three  different 
bohemian  clubs  of  the  Moonlight  variety,  and  each 
time  had  promised  himself  not  to  go  to  another.  The 
food,  called  a  "course  dinner,"  was  cooked  and  served 
in  a  way  designed  to  make  the  largest  margin  of  profit, 
and  the  wine  was  so  adulterated  with  acids  and  water 
that  it  was  facetiously  referred  to  as  "red  ink."  But  as 
he  was  no  epicure  and,  unlike  most  of  his  fellow  re- 
porters, cared  little  for  liquors,  he  regretted  more  than 
all  else  the  lack  of  mental  pabulum.  And  so  it  was 
with  misgivings  that  he  attended  to-night's  dinner. 

"Well,  I  have  no  place  else  to  go,"  he  thought,  "and 
I  might  as  well  be  there  as  anywhere  else."  The 
weather  was  warm,  and  he  had  grown  tired  of  reading 
in  libraries  and  sitting  on  park  benches.  He  had  made 
no  friends  except  those  in  newspaper  offices.  A  re- 
porter has  little  time  for  outside  friendships.  More- 
over, Gordon  was  an  orphan,  with  only  a  few  distant 
relatives  in  New  England  whom  he  had  never  seen, 
and  he  had  no  correspondents  with  whom  to  while 
away  the  time  save  two  reportorial  friends  in  the  West. 
His  regular  round  of  the  newspaper  offices  had  brought 
only  discouragement  that  morning.  He  could  neither 
get  a  position  nor  sell  one  of  the  two  Sunday  "fea- 
tures" he  had  written.  Was  he  blacklisted?  Had  his 
independence  of  soul  made  him  a  journalistic  pariah? 
It  was  too  early  to  say,  but  he  began  to  have  misgiv- 
ings.    Meanwhile,  with  part  of  the  money  raised  by 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  155 

his  sympathizers,  he  had  bought  new  clothes.  Good 
attire  lends  poise,  self-possession,  courage.  He  was 
almost  cheerful  as  he  walked  with  Holmes  along  Sec- 
ond avenue  toward  Stuyvesant  Square,  near  which 
was  the  restaurant  where  they  were  to  dine. 

The  Moonlight  Club  had  the  upstairs  section  of  the 
eating  house  to  itself.  There  were  four  long  tables 
placed  lengthwise,  while  across  the  forward  end  of  the 
room,  and  opposite  the  entrance,  was  a  fifth,  the 
speakers'  table.  Here  the  notables  sat,  and  most  of 
them  wore  dress  suits.  Among  the  hundred  guests, 
of  whom  about  half  were  women,  ordinary  attire  was 
as  frequently  seen  as  evening  clothes.  This  gave  a 
mottled  appearance  to  the  gathering.  The  effect  was 
increased  by  an  occasional  bald  head  gleaming  in  con- 
trast to  the  ultra  long  hair  on  the  heads  of  some  of  the 
"geniuses."  From  below  came  the  strains  of  an 
orchestra  muffled  by  the  distance,  and  to  this  music 
the  waiters,  who  outshone  the  masculine  diners  by  the 
uniformity  of  their  attire,  marched  in  and  distributed 
the  first  course. 

Gordon  had  not  been  dining  well  of  late,  and  he 
faithfully  followed  the  meal  through  all  its  courses. 
He  knew  just  what  to  expect.  It  was  the  same  kind 
of  dinner  he  had  eaten  at  the  three  previous  "bohe- 
mian"  dinners.  And  it  was  the  same  kind  that  will  be 
served  at  all  such  "bohemian"  dinners  to-day,  to- 
morrow and  the  day  after,  and  so  on  endlessly.  After 
the  soup,  on  this  occasion  termed  mock  turtle,  came 
in  regular  order  the  piece  of  anonymous  fish,  cut  with 
mathematical  exactness  into  a  square  of  the  dimen- 
sions of  one  inch  and  a  quarter,  accompanied  by  a 
dwarf  potato ;  the  slice  of  juiceless  meat,  euphoniously 


156  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

called  roast  beef,  but  which  was  open  to  the  suspicion 
of  being  something  else,  convoyed  by  a  dish  of  mashed 
potatoes  and  another  dish  containing  a  dozen  and  a 
half  of  peas ;  the  two  lettuce  leaves  barely  kept  from 
aviation  on  the  breath  of  some  vagrant  breeze  by  the 
weight  of  a  slice  and  a  half  of  anemic  tomatoes,  the 
combination  being  known  as  salad;  the  strip  of  tri- 
colored  and  frozen  corn  starch  two  inches  long  by  one 
wide  designated  Neapolitan  ice  cream ;  the  half  inch 
cube  of  Roquefort  or  Brie  cheese,  and  the  demi-tasse 
of  coffee. 

As  the  last  coffee  cup  was  set  down  the  president  of 
the  club,  Homer  Leonard  Abbott  Carr,  rose  in  his 
place  and  rapped  for  order  with  the  handle  of  his  knife. 
All  eyes  were  focused  upon  him.  He  smiled  conde- 
scendingly upon  his  "guests,"  and  gave  them  ample 
time  to  discover  the  resemblance  which  he  had  once 
been  told  his  countenance  had  to  that  of  Voltaire.  He 
had  written  one  novel  that  had  been  published,  and 
three  more  that  had  not.  In  order  to  pay  living  ex- 
penses (even  geniuses  must  live),  he  acted  as  private 
secretary  to  the  illiterate  head  of  the  Board  of  Alder- 
men. He  conducted  the  Moonlight  Club  dinners  at  a 
monthly  profit  of  thirty  or  forty  dollars.  But  the 
opportunity  to  appear  regularly  as  one  of  the  city's 
literati  in  the  eyes  of  a  hundred  or  more  people,  and 
the  joy  of  being  occasionally  mentioned  in  the  daily 
press  as  an  author  and  leader  of  thought — this  was 
what  he  lived  for,  this  was  become  as  the  breath  of  his 
nostrils.  Of  course,  being  an  underling  to  a  politician, 
he  could  express  no  political  views  of  importance,  but 
he  acquired  a  certain  reputation  for  courageous  liber- 
ality by  uttering  at  intervals  such  phrases  as  "The  time 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  157 

for  reform  is  at  hand,"  or  "The  mob  will  some  day  rise 
against  its  masters." 

He  used  up  five  minutes  in  introducing  "one  who 
needs  no  introduction,  Mr.  Harding  Block,  who  wrote 
'The  Dilemma  of  the  Princess,'  now  appearing  at  one 
of  our  well  known  theaters."  He  added  that  "Mr. 
Block  will  take  the  negative  of  the  question  for  debate 
this  evening,  which  is,  'Was  Shakespeare  a  Great 
Dramatist  ?'  After  his  remarks  we  will  call  upon  others 
present  for  opinions  in  the  affirmative." 

The  lion  of  the  evening  then  rose,  brushed  back  a 
thinning  mane  of  hair  from  his  brows,  pulled  at  his 
heavy  mustache,  inclined  his  head  first  toward  the 
president  and  then  toward  the  audience,  smiled  be- 
nignly upon  all  whom  he  was  about  to  instruct,  and 
began  his  speech  in  accents  that  faintly  suggested, 
though  they  did  not  entirely  betray  his  Hebraic  origin. 
He  had  been  basely  accused  of  taking  his  plot  for  "The 
Dilemma  of  the  Princess"  from  an  English  play  a  gen- 
eration old,  revamping  it  and  locating  his  scenes  and 
characters  in  an  imaginary  German  principality,  and 
changing  the  hero  to  an  American,  whose  conquest  of 
the  heart  of  a  princess  appealed  strongly  to  republican 
audiences.  But  the  charge  of  plagiarism  was  not  be- 
lieved by  his  friends. 

"Far  be  it  from  my  purpose  to  disparage  the  great- 
ness of  William  Shakespeare,"  said  Mr.  Block. 
"Shakespeare  was  the  greatest  po-hut  that  ever  lived, 
and  that  is  enough  glory  for  any  man.  But  he  was  not 
a  great  dramatist.  His  dramas  do  not  act  well,  and 
that  is  the  test  by  which  a  dramatist's  powers  must  be 
measured.  The  flowers  of  poetic  genius  which  dec- 
orate his  pages  are  rightly  the  admiration  and  the  de- 


158  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

spair  of  many  a  pohut.  And  his  dramas,  in  spite  of 
their  manifest  crudities,  are  an  intellectual  feast.  But 
you  can  enjoy  them  best  in  the  quiet  of  the  study. 
Upon  the  stage  they  do  not  satisfy  the  critical  taste 
of  the  present  day.  They  do  not  ring  true  of  life  as 
it  really  is.  No  jealous  husband  nowadays  would  act 
as  Othello  did — granting  that  Othello  really  did  the 
things  that  Shakespeare  represents  him  as  doing.  Your 
modern  husband,  coming  home  late  at  night  and  find- 
ing another  man  with  his  wife,  would  not  even  fly  into 
a  passion.  He  would  simply  say,  'How  will  you  have 
your  rarebit  ?'  Moreover,  even  if  people  ever  existed  as 
Shakespeare  portrays  them,  we  have  progressed  beyond 
the  age  of  Shakespeare." 

He  talked  on  in  this  way  for  half  an  hour.  To  help 
prove  his  contention  he  cited  statistics  of  decreasing 
attendance  at  Shakespearean  plays  in  American  cities. 
"Shakespeare  was  the  greatest  po-hut  that  ever  lived," 
he  concluded.  "Take  him  to  your  study,  but  do  not 
delude  yourselves  with  the  belief  that  he  is  any  longer 
to  be  regarded  as  a  great  dramatist  as  viewed  in  the 
light  of  modern  critical  opinion." 

A  period  of  five  minutes  to  each  person  was  allowed 
for  the  expression  of  opposing  views.  Shakespeare's 
admirers  rallied  to  his  defense,  and  the  president  had 
difficulty  in  limiting  some  of  them  to  the  allotted  time. 
Their  combined  efforts  were  about  equal  to  Mr.  Block's 
attack.  One  of  the  speakers  insinuated  that  Mr. 
Block  might  be  a  little  jealous  of  the  reputation  of  a 
rival  playwright,  whose  dramas  had  endured  for  three 
hundred  years,  to  which  Mr.  Block  responded  with 
facetious  complacency,  "Oh,  no.  If  my  plays  run  for 
three  hundred  nights  on  Broadway  111  be  satisfied  of 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  159 

the  discriminating  taste  of  the  modern  piaygoing 
public." 

Finally,  Arthur  Delaval,  journalist  and  dramatic 
critic,  was  asked  to  say  something.  A  slender  young 
man  with  brown  eyes,  in  which  brooded  a  gentle 
melancholy,  rose  opposite  Gordon,  faced  the  president 
and  the  speaker's  table,  and  said:  "In  view  of  all  that 
has  been  uttered,  I  think  it  best  for  both  Shakespeare 
and  myself  to  remain  silent  this  evening,"  and  then  he 
sat  down  again. 

"Thanks  be  to  Jove  for  that  lightning  flash,  in  this 
chaos  of  shallow  opinions!"  Gordon  whispered  to 
Holmes.  But  his  remark  was  not  heard,  for  the  assem- 
blage was  breaking  up,  and  Holmes  had  risen  with  the 
rest,  and  was  talking  to  a  man  on  his  other  side. 

In  the  next  instant  Gordon  had  forgotten  Holmes, 
the  dinner,  the  speeches,  the  witticism  of  Delaval — 
everything  in  the  world  but  a  beautiful  face  which  he 
now  beheld  for  the  second  time  in  his  life.  It  was  the 
face  of  her  whom  he  had  seen  from  a  bench  in  Union 
Square  a  week  before,  the  face  of  the  radiant  woman 
who  had  smiled  at  him  from  her  carriage,  and  then  dis- 
appeared, leaving  him  filled  with  ecstasy  and  despair. 
And  as  she  had  vanished  then  she  was  vanishing  now. 
But  this  time  she  was  leaning  on  the  arm  of  a  man  who 
was  escorting  her  toward  the  far  end  of  the  long  room. 
Her  gaze  was  not  turned  in  his  direction  now,  how- 
ever. And  more  than  a  hundred  people  blocked  the 
way  between  them. 

"Oh,  to  think  that  she  was  here  all  the  evening,  and 
I  did  not  know  it !"  he  muttered  to  himself,  as  he  began 
desperately  to  shoulder  his  way  toward  her.  Holmes 
had  been  calling  to  him,  and  now  seized  him  by  the 


160  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

coat,  but  he  heeded  him  not  In  a  kind  of  frenzy  he 
made  his  way  through  the  throng,  and  ran,  hatless, 
down  the  stairway  and  into  the  street,  only  to  see  the 
beautiful  one  and  her  escort  whirled  away  in  a  car- 
riage. 

"Who  is  that  woman — er — uh — that  couple,  officer  ?" 
he  asked,  feverishly,  turning  to  the  first  person  at  hand, 
who  chanced  to  be  a  policeman.  He  showed  his  re- 
porter's star,  and  added :  "You  see,  I'm  working  on  a 
big  story,  and " 

At  this  instant  the  president  of  the  Moonlight  Club 
came  down  the  stairway.  "Ask  him ;  he  knows,"  said 
the  officer. 

"Oh,  that  couple?"  repeated  the  literatus.  "They 
are  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Richard  Durkin.  They  occasionally 
visit  bohemian  clubs.  They  live  up  on  Murray  Hill 
somewhere — in  Park  avenue,  I  think." 


CHAPTER   IV 


A  LETTER  FROM    MERCEDES 


Yes,  the  Durkins  had  come  to  New  York  to  live,  and 
the  following  letter,  received  near  the  end  of  the  pre- 
ceding winter,  may  help  to  explain  why : 

"Dear  Mr.  Gorman:  In  the  loneliness  of  a  winter  on 
the  mountain  top  I  have  been  wondering  how  you  have 
been  passing  the  time.  Your  kindly  interest  in  our  affairs 
makes  me  believe  that  you  would  like  to  hear  from  us, 
and  I  am  writing  you,  although  I  don't  think  Richard 
would  approve  if  he  knew.  But  poor  Richard  is  not  him- 
self nowadays.  He  is  so  melancholy  over  the  way  the 
South  Union  stock  turned  out  that  he  drinks  more  moon- 
shine whisky  than  is  good  for  him,  and  he  keeps  me 
worried  much  of  the  time. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  161 

"The  social  life  in  this  part  of  the  world  is  duller  in 
winter  than  in  the  fall,  for  many  of  the  planters  go  to 
Richmond  or  Baltimore  for  the  season,  and  so  I,  too,  am 
none  too  cheerful.  I  play  over  some  of  those  songs  I  sang 
to  you,  and  which  you  liked  so  well,  and  it  makes  me  think 
of  your  visit  that  was  so  pleasant  to  us,  and  it  also  reminds 
me  of  the  glorious  time  I  had  at  the  Rhinclander  Hudsons' 
ball  where  we  first  met.  Ah,  those  were  happy  times,  and 
how  I  do  long  for  their  return!  I  was  not  made  for  this 
kind  of  an  existence,  and  though  Dick  sometimes  reads  me 
the  philosophy  of  Epictetus,  I  cannot,  T  cannot  be  recon- 
ciled to  a  life  without  light  and  color,  and  without  beau- 
tiful things  to  enjoy.  I  am  a  woman,  and  not  a  very  old 
one  yet,  and  I  love  life,  and  not  a  peaceful  in-the-chimney- 
corner  kind  of  existence.  Philosophy  was  not  made  for 
me.     Or  anyhow,  I  am  sure  1  was  not  made  for  philosophy. 

"I  am  sad  to-day,  muy  triste,  as  my  Spanish  mother 
would  have  said.  I  hope  I  am  not  taking  up  too  much  of 
your  time.  I  am  writing  just  to  relieve  my  feelings  a 
little,  and  to  give  myself  the  sensation  of  reaching  out 
from  the  tomb  in  which  I  am  now  enduring  a  kind  of 
living  death,  and  touching  hands  with  some  one  who 
sympathizes  with  me.  But  do  not  write  to  me  in  return. 
If  there  is  any  news  about  the  South  Union,  though,  I 
am  sure  Richard  would  like  to  hear  it.  Most  of  his 
friends  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York  seem  to  have  for- 
gotten him.  Poor  boy!  Perhaps  you  can  tell  him  of 
some  one  who  would  like  to  buy  his  stock  at  somewhere 
near  what  you  offered  for  it,  or  you  may  have  a  client 
who  would  like  to  loan  money  on  it_ 

"Anyhow,  be  assured  that  we  appreciate  the  interest  you 
have  taken  in  the  affair,  and  that  we  hope  to  meet  you 
again.  "Your  sincere  friend, 

"Mercedes  Durkin." 


The  day  after  this  communication  was  received,  a 
business  communication  was  sent  from  the  house  of 
Gorman  &  Company  to  Mr.  Richard  Durkin,  in  care 
of  a  small  Virginia  postoffice.  It  contained  an  offer 
of  forty-five  thousand  dollars  for  his  stock  in  the  South 
Union  Railroad.  There  was  a  postscript,  signed  by 
Gorman  himself,  requesting  to  know  whether  Mr.  Dur- 
kin would  accept  a  directorship  in  the  new  telephone 
company,  "as  per  our  conversation  upon  the  subject 
while  visiting  at  your  home  recently." 


i&  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

CHAPTER  V 

PLANNING  TO  SCALE  THE  ALPS  OF  POPULAR  DISAPPROVAL 

From  his  first  important  defeat  in  the  game  of  love, 
a  defeat  galling,  humiliating,  maddening  in  its  seeming 
nearness  to  victory,  Gorman  had  returned  to  New 
York  in  a  savage  mood.  He  left  the  Durkins'  eyrie 
with  ruffled  feathers  on  the  morning  after  Mercedes 
had  fled  from  him,  although  for  appearance's  sake  he 
felt  compelled  to  show  a  smooth  front  to  the  husband. 
Richard's  failure  to  come  back  that  night  until  long 
after  the  supper  hour  had  given  ample  time  for  love- 
making  if  the  wife  had  been  as  willing  as  the  husband 
seemed. 

Mercedes  did  not  appear  at  table  for  supper,  but  told 
her  maid  she  was  ill,  and  Gorman  ate  alone.  The  next 
morning's  meal  was  eaten  in  almost  total  silence.  Only 
when  Richard  escorted  him  to  the  mountain  road  to 
meet  the  stage  coach  did  Gorman  refer  to  the  stock 
deaL  "I'll  write  you  just  what  I  can  do  as  soon  as  I 
consult  with  my  partners,"  was  all  he  said,  and  the 
other,  suspecting  the  real  situation,  bade  him  a  per- 
functorily cordial  good-by  without  further  discussion. 

He  sought  to  dull  the  sting  of  it  all  by  plunging 
fiercely  back  into  business.  For  weeks  he  devoted  all 
of  his  days  and  many  hours  of  his  nights  to  schemes 
for  the  defeat  of  De  Blick,  and  for  the  extension 
of  the  powers  of  his  banking  house.  His  aids  had  not 
been  idle  during  his  absence,  and  they  had  obtained 
many  blocks  of  South  Union,  so  that  he  and  his  allies 
now  possessed  almost  a  majority  of  it  There  were 
some  holders,  however,  so  tenacious  that  he  resolved 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  163 

upon  another  stock  market  campaign.  After  several 
weeks  De  Blick  was  brought  to  his  knees,  threw  over 
his  own  holdings  before  it  was  too  late  to  make  a  profit, 
and  was  rewarded  with  a  directorship  in  the  Grand 
Union.  His  abandonment  of  the  South  Union  left 
many  others  in  the  lurch,  but  that  did  not  trouble  his 
conscience,  or,  rather,  it  did  not  trouble  his  mind. 

It  was  with  grim  satisfaction  that  Gorman  thought 
of  the  Durkins  as  among  the  ruined  investors.  They 
would  have  a  sorry  time  of  it  this  winter,  and  after- 
wards. Well,  let  their  miseries  be  upon  their  own 
heads,  or  upon  the  head  of  the  woman  who  had  twice 
scorned  his  advances.  Poor  Mercedes,  with  her  proud 
spirit  and  her  love  of  luxury,  how  she  would  suffer ! 
Perhaps  he  would  some  time  make  another  attempt 
in  that  direction — but  not  yet,  not  yet.  And  one  day 
as  he  was  musing  thus,  he  received  her  letter. 

Within  a  month  the  Durkins  had  been  installed  in  a 
home  of  luxury  in  one  of  the  most  fashionable  thor- 
oughfares of  Murray  Hill.  The  wife  was  received  in 
society,  and  the  husband  became  known  as  one  of  the 
successful  young  financiers  of  the  day. 

Meanwhile  the  trend  of  public  events  was  such  that 
most  of  Gorman's  time  and  all  of  his  mental  abilities 
were  needed  to  strengthen  and  maintain  his  position  as 
one  of  the  rulers  of  the  industrial  world.  What  he  and 
other  capitalists  were  pleased  to  think  of  as  the  middle 
and  lower  classes  had  begun  to  understand  how  their 
property  and  even  their  lives  were  passing  into  the 
control  of  fewer  and  fewer  men.  There  were  growls 
of  protest  in  public  meetings,  in  the  press,  in  State 
Legislatures,  and  in  the  halls  of  Congress.  The  pres- 
sure of  public  opinion  became  so  strong  that  even 
those  Congressmen  who  had  been  elected  by  the  aid  of 


164  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

railroad  funds  were  forced  to  join  in  a  demand  for 
some  kind  of  a  law  to  regulate  the  roads. 

Many  Senators  and  Representatives  thundered  for 
days  against  "these  despoilers  of  the  people."  There 
was  a  far  Western  Senator  who  declared  that  "Capi- 
tal has  been  organized,  bold,  unscrupulous,  law-defy- 
ing, moving  upon  State  Legislatures,  upon  the  courts, 
upon  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  unblushingly 
purchasing  laws  and  interpretations  thereof.  In  a 
republic  they  despise  the  people  and  control  its  repre- 
sentatives." And  a  Southern  Senator  said  the  rail- 
roads had  issued  bogus  bonds  to  the  amount  of  three 
billion  dollars,  and  that  they  were  assessing  the  people 
to  pay  an  actual  taxation  upon  them  of  three  hundred 
millions  a  year.  Yet  few  dared  to  say  that  the  nation 
should  own  the  roads. 

After  months  of  such  speeches  a  law  was  passed 
creating  an  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  and 
the  "middle  class"  rejoiced  greatly  for  a  time.  But 
when  tested  in  the  courts  the  law  was  found  to  be  a 
sham.  The  friends  of  the  railroads  had  not  been  idle, 
although  they  had  kept  silent  while  the  tribunes  of  the 
people  loudly  declaimed.  As  a  result  of  their  work, 
and  by  the  connivance  of  some  of  these  very  tribunes, 
clause  after  clause  had  been  drawn  in  an  unconstitu- 
tional way.  When  the  grave  and  reverend  jurists  on 
and  off  the  bench  got  through  with  the  law,  the  com- 
mission was  found  to  be  quite  a  harmless  body.  It  had 
no  power  to  enforce  its  rules.  It  could  not  even  com- 
pel witnesses  to  attend  sittings.  It  was  little  more 
than  a  bureau  for  the  collection  of  statistics. 

The  public  rage  at  being  tricked  and  beaten  soon 
found  expression  in  a  new  law.  It  was  aimed  at  all 
combinations  of  capital  in  restraint  of  trade,  and  was 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  165 

opposed  by  the  railways  no  less  bitterly  than  by  those 
new  industrial  combinations  known  as  trusts,  which 
were  then  rising  to  menacing  proportions  to  control 
a  nation's  commerce,  each  in  its  own  particular  line. 
An  ambitious  politician  who  wanted  to  make  the  White 
House  his  home  had  drawn  the  new  law.  Severe  pen- 
alities, including  imprisonment,  were  provided.  As  it 
developed,  no  judge  was  so  cruel  as  to  sentence  any  one 
to  jail  for  even  one  day  under  this  law.  Still,  heavy 
fines  were  provided,  and  it  was  feared  that  some  judge 
to  whom  high  political  office  shone  with  an  alluring 
glitter  might  treat  an  industrial  baron  as  a  common 
criminal  to  get  the  vote  of  the  common  people. 

The  owners  of  the  railways,  however,  knew  the  value 
of  union.  Their  lobbyists  had  long  worked  together, 
sharing  "legal  expenses"  at  State  and  national  cap- 
itals. And  now  they  decided  to  join  forces  against  this 
new  reform.  There  would  be  danger  if  this  were  done 
openly,  for  many  of  the  States  were  following  the 
national  government  in  passing  anti-trust  laws.  The 
country  was  aroused  against  the  railways  as  never  be- 
fore.   Secrecy  must  prevail. 

And  who  was  to  lead  this  movement  against  popu- 
lar clamor  ?  The  physical  courage  to  take  the  initiative 
seemed  lacking  in  the  heads  of  all  the  railroads.  Not 
one  of  these  men  but  had  been  the  target  of  invective 
by  legislators  or  in  the  public  prints.  The  popular 
mind  was  inflamed  and  was  demanding  a  victim.  Be- 
sides, most  of  them  were  men  advanced  in  years,  and 
they  desired  more  than  aught  else  to  enjoy  peaceably 
the  luxuries  that  their  swollen  fortunes  would  procure. 
The  leading  magnate  of  the  Pacific  coast  had  bought  a 
Russian  prince  for  his  daughter,  and  was  spending 
much  of  his  time  abroad.    De  Blick  had  erected  a  mar- 


1 66  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

ble  palace  at  Newport,  and  was  negotiating  for  a  title 
for  his  daughter.  Yet  they  and  all  the  other  capitalists 
were  ready  to  follow  if  some  one  would  show  the  way. 
Napoleon  crossed  the  Alps  and  took  Italy  while 
other  generals  were  debating  as  to  whether  it  could  be 
taken  at  all.  In  much  the  same  way  C.  Jefferson  Gor- 
man now  stepped  to  the  front,  assumed  command  of 
the  railway  and  banking  forces,  and  began  his  cam- 
paign for  the  control  of  industrial  America. 


CHAPTER   VI 


A  MYSTERIOUS  TIP 


"Maybe  I'll  have  to  leave  town  after  all,"  Gordon 
remarked,  gloomily,  to  Holmes. 

They  were  in  a  cafe  near  Park  Row.  A  month  had 
passed  since  they  had  attended  the  Moonlight  Club's 
dinner.  Holmes  regularly  paid  for  Gordon's  meals 
now,  but  the  latter  still  clung  to  his  cheap  room  in  a 
Macdougal  street  lodging  house,  refusing  to  share  the 
other's  apartment  further  uptown.  The  money  raised 
by  his  friends  in  the  Trumpet  office  had  long  been 
spent,  and  he  was  twenty  dollars  in  debt. 

"Oh,  don't  give  up  yet,"  responded  Holmes.  "A  lot 
of  fellows  will  be  taking  vacations  soon,  and  some 
paper  will  have  to  give  you  a  show." 

"I  refuse  to  be  a  burden  on  my  friends  any  longer. 
There  must  be  a  secret  blacklist  in  this  town,  though 
perhaps  they  haven't  extended  it  to  the  other  big  cities 
as  yet.  But  I  know  that  in  office  after  office  where  I've 
had  an  application  in  for  more  than  a  month,  they've 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  167 

taken  on  new  reporters,  and  yet  there  is  no  vacancy  for 
me.  And  there's  no  sign  of  that  new  paper  being 
started." 

"Have  you  been  everywhere?" 

"Everywhere,  except  to  the  papers  printed  in  foreign 
languages.  I  know  only  a  little  French  and  less  Ger- 
man, and  the  score  of  Italian,  Hebrew,  Polish  and 
other  foreign  sheets  might  as  well  be  in  Greek  for  all 
I  can  read  them.  Besides,  they  have  small  staffs  and 
pay  so  little  compared  with  the  big  papers  printed  in 
English." 

"How  often  have  you  been  the  rounds?" 

"I've  gone  to  the  offices  of  the  eight  morning  and 
seven  evening  dailies  on  Manhattan  Island  at  least 
twice  each  week,  and  I've  been  to  the  four  Brooklyn 
sheets  once  a  week.  I've  already  worn  out  my  shoes, 
and  the  patience  of  a  dozen  city  editors. 

"Well,  you  know,  Lyle,  I'll  stake  you  for  more  shoes 
any  time " 

"Of  course  you  would,  old  man,  but  I  can't  accept 
any  more  clothes  or  money  from  you.  You  shan't 
postpone  your  marriage  on  my  account  again.  I'll 
simply  efface  myself.  My  resolution  to  work  in  New 
York  is  worn  almost  as  threadbare  as  my  coat." 

"How  about  feature  stories?" 

"Well,  two  Sunday  editors  have  taken  about  four 
dollars'  worth  of  stuff  each — just  enough  to  indicate 
that  they  have  nothing  against  me,  but  not  enough  to 
keep  me  alive  without  help  from  my  friends.  I  might 
have  sold  a  few  features  to  the  Star,  which  has  such 
a  love  for  sensations,  you  know,  if  I  could  fake  or 
exaggerate  in  the  way  it  likes.  But  I  can't  bring 
myself  to  doing  such  work,  unless  perhaps  to  save 
myself  from  actual  starvation." 


i68  THE   AMERICAN    EMPEROR 

"Perhaps  you  don't  know  that  the  highest  salaried 
newspaper  man  in  town — I  think  he  gets  eighteen  thou- 
sand a  year — is  Sunday  editor  of  the  Star,  and  that's 
the  main  reason  he  gets  it — his  faking  ability,  I  mean. 
He  started  all  this  craze  for  Sunday  sensations  about 
the  greatest  and  the  littlest  everything,  and  the 
learned  discussions  as  to  whether  Eve  was  a  blonde, 
and  how  much  better  shaped  are  the  legs  of  American 
chorus  girls  than  those  of  their  English  cousins,  and 
so  on.  They  say  that  when  he  is  short  of  top-head 
stories,  he  will  actually  send  a  man  out  with  forty  or 
fifty  dollars  to  pay  some  milliner  or  shop  girl  to  'stand 
for'  a  fake  about  a  proposal  from  a  bogus  count  or 
marquis.  Of  course,  it's  easy  money  for  the  girl,  and 
she  has  no  reputation  for  veracity  to  lose,  and  the  mob 
gulps  down  such  'romances'  in  a  greedy  fashion.  One 
of  his  latest  schemes  was  to  pay  fifty  dollars  to  a  poor 
fellow  out  of  work  to  advertise  himself  for  sale  as  a 
slave,  in  order  to  keep  his  family  from  starvation. 
That  produced  a  series  of  sensations,  and  a  lot  of  opin- 
ions from  lawyers  as  to  whether  such  a  transaction 
would  be  constitutional,  which  of  course  it  wouldn't, 
but  it  finally  gave  the  poor  workless  devil  so  much 
advertising  that  he  got  a  job.  I  tell  you  there  are 
worse  ways  of  making  money  than  that." 

"I  doubt  whether  I  could  get  even  such  assign- 
ments," said  Gordon,  moodily.  "But  I  certainly  shall 
not  seek  them." 

"Then  you  won't  buck  the  game  any  longer?"  asked 
Holmes,  who  did  want  to  get  married,  and  who,  be- 
neath the  surface  of  his  cordiality,  cherished  the  hope 
that  Lyle  would  do  something  for  himself  before  long, 
even  if  he  had  to  leave  town  to  do  it.  The  sympathy 
he  had  felt  for  him  at  first  had  begun  to  wane.     He 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  169 

wouldn't  have  been  so  foolish  as  Lyle  was  in  that 
asphalt  trust  matter,  so  why  should  he  suffer? 

"Now  I'm  down  and  out,  in  so  far  as  New  York  is 
concerned,"  replied  Lyle.  "I  think  I'll  go  to  Phila- 
delphia next  week,  and — but  here's  a  letter  I  got  this 
morning  that  you  may  like  to  read.  It  may  be  a  tip 
on  a  big  story,  or  it  may  be  a  joke.  A  few  weeks  ago 
I  would  have  been  excited  by  it ;  now,  I  am  losing  my 
enthusiasm,  I've  followed  so  many  false  tips.  But 
read  the  letter.  It's  anonymous,  you  see.  It  came  this 
morning,  and  I  forgot  to  speak  about  it" 

The  letter  was  in  a  disguised  feminine  hand,  on  per- 
fumed paper.    It  read : 

"There  will  be  an  important  meeting  at  a  private  resi- 
dence, number  Fifth  avenue,  on  Friday  of  this  week. 

Say  'Louis  Sixteenth'  to  the  butler. 

"The  writer  of  this  is  interested  in  the  addressee,  but  for 
reasons  which  cannot  be  stated  here,  does  not  wish  to 
sign  this  communication." 

The  effect  of  this  upon  Holmes  was  electrical.  He 
half  rose  from  his  chair  in  agitation,  sat  down  again, 
and  then  said,  in  tones  that  trembled : 

"Lyle,  old  man,  that's  probably  the  hottest  tip  that 
has  come  to  a  newspaper  man  in  this  town  for  many 
moons.  Don't  you  know  what  that  number  on  Fifth 
avenue  means?  It's  C.  Jefferson  Gorman's  home.  To- 
morrow is  Friday.  There'll  be  some  great  doings  there, 
or  I'm  a  blithering  idiot.  Go  to  the  Star  office  with 
this.  They're  none  too  friendly  toward  Gorman,  and 
they  print  the  most  sensational  r,heet  in  America,  as 
you  know.  If  this  pans  out  half  as  well  as  I'm  sure  it 
will,  it'll  break  the  hoodoo  and  get  you  a  job.  Hurry 
up.  Here's  a  dollar  for  incidental  expenses.  Tell  me 
about  it  to-morrow — no,   wait  till   it's  all  over.     It's 


170  THE  AMERICAN   EMPEROR 

a  great  story,  but  I'll  keep  silent  at  the  Trumpet  office. 
I'll  be  glad  to  see  you  score  a  beat  on  them  after  the 
way  they  treated  you.  Go  to  it,  old  man;  scoop  the 
whole  world,  and  I'll  be  on  hand  to  cheer  when  you 
come  under  the  wire !" 

It  was  with  high  hopes  that,  half  an  hour  later,  Gor- 
don pushed  his  way  past  the  office  boy  on  guard  at 
the  railing  before  the  editorial  rooms  on  the  twelfth 
floor  of  the  Star  building,  and  walked  boldly  into  the 
city  editor's  "den."  The  occupant,  a  nervous,  anemic, 
bespectacled  man,  with  a  bald  head  and  a  straggly 
mustache,  opened  his  mouth  to  swear  at  this  insistent 
visitor,  whom  he  had  already  told  fourteen  times  that 
his  services  were  not  wanted.  But  before  he  could 
speak,  Gordon  had  thrown  the  letter  on  the  desk  before 
him,  saving,  "Read  that,  please." 

The  effect  upon  the  city  editor  was  similar  to  that 
upon  Holmes.  He  jumped  up  and  ran  with  the  letter 
into  the  managing  editor's  office  adjoining.  From 
behind  the  thin  partition  of  cherry  wood  and  ground 
glass,  Gordon  heard  various  exclamations,  and  caught 
such  phrases  as,  "But  he's  the  only  one  that  can  get 
past  the  butler."  "We've  got  to  have  the  story."  "It 
must  be  exclusive."    "Oh,  he  can  handle  it,  all  right." 

When  the  city  editor  returned  his  superior  was  with 
him.  They  both  fired  questions  at  Lyle,  and  when 
they  had  learned  all  he  knew,  the  managing  editor 
gave  him  an  order  on  the  cashier  for  fifty  dollars,  "to 
use  on  the  servants,  if  necessary." 

"And  just  wait  a  moment,"  the  managing  editor 
added,  hurrying  into  his  office  and  out  again.  "We 
have  a  copy  of  a  typewritten  circular  that  may  help 
explain  things.  It  was  sent  out  by  the  four  largest 
banking  houses  to  big  railway  men  all  over  the  country. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  171 

It  was  registered,  and  marked  'Private  and  Confiden- 
tial,' and  it  says  that  'the  meeting  to  organize  the 
owners  of  the  roads  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining 
stable  rates  will  be  held  at  the  time  and  in  the  place 
agreed  upon.'  Never  mind  how  we  got  this  copy,  but 
the  affair  at  Gorman's  must  be  the  meeting  referred 
to.  Jerusalem !  What  a  story  it  will  make !  It's  in 
defiance  of  law  if  they  organize  for  that  purpose — but 
that  won't  deter  such  a  crowd." 

And  Gordon  Lyle,  his  entire  being  aflame  with 
enthusiasm,  went  forth  with  instructions  to  "Get  the 
story !    No  matter  what  happens,  get  the  story !" 


CHAPTER  VII 

A    SUBSTITUTE    LACKEY 

Even  the  greatest  commanders  are  liable  to  err  in 
some  details  of  the  most  masterly  plan  of  campaign. 
None  can  foresee  every  contingency.  The  sentry 
before  the  general's  own  tent  may  be  an  enemy's  spy. 
Or,  perhaps,  the  man  who  serves  him  coffee  has  been 
bribed  to  poison  it.  Or  there  may  be  a  sunken  road, 
hidden  by  shrubbery  and  unknown  to  either  army, 
midway  of  the  heights  that  might  otherwise  be  easily 
taken.  And  then,  instead  of  victory,  there  results  the 
engulfment  of  a  regiment  or  a  brigade,  and  the  panic 
and  rout  of  an  entire  command. 

Gorman's  butler,  Tibbits,  was  taken  suddenly  ill 
on  the  morning  before  the  momentous  railway  confer- 
ence. The  man  had  been  in  his  employ  for  more  than 
a  year,  and  had  always  seemed  entirely  trustworthy. 


172  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

Gorman  had  never  been  able  to  keep  valets  or  butlers 
very  long  at  a  time  because  of  his  irritability  and  his 
irregular  hours.  But  he  made  it  a  rule  to  assure  him- 
self of  their  honesty  before  the  end  of  the  first  month 
by  leaving  diamond  pins  lying  about,  or  placing  ten-  or 
twenty-dollar  bills  in  garments  that  he  gave  them  to 
press.  He  lost  hundreds  of  dollars  in  this  way,  but  he 
reasoned  that  he  saved  thousands  in  the  end,  for  a  dis- 
honest servant,  if  kept  for  long,  might  steal  ten  times 
as  much  and  escape  with  the  loot. 

When  Tibbits  sent  word  by  the  valet  that  he  was  ill 
in  his  attic  room,  his  master  thought  little  of  it.  And 
when  Gorman  saw  Hawkins,  who  had  been  provided 
as  a  substitute,  he  had  a  vague  remembrance  of  having 
seen  the  man  before,  but  still  he  did  not  think  much 
about  it.  His  mind  was  too  busy  with  his  plan  to  beat 
the  forces  of  reform.  Anyhow,  one  butler  should  do 
about  as  well  as  another  for  this  occasion.  Only  a 
dozen  railway  heads  in  all  America,  besides  himself 
and  his  banking  friends,  knew  of. the  purpose  of  the 
meeting,  he  felt  sure.  And  a  butler,  even  if  he  were 
dishonest  and  talkative,  would  have  to  be  very  much 
above  the  ordinary  in  intelligence  to  understand  what 
the  proceedings  meant. 

Mrs.  Gorman  and  the  serving  maids  had  been  sent  to 
their  villa  at  Newport  for  a  visit  of  several  weeks. 
Theodora  was  at  an  English  finishing  school  for  young 
ladies,  and  Gorman,  Junior,  was  still  at  Heidelberg. 
Upon  sending  his  wife  away,  he  told  her  that  he  was 
to  have  "a  little  stag  party  of  old  cronies,  who  wanted 
to  combine  business  with  pleasure."  And  he  added, 
"I  desire  them  to  enjoy  all  the  comforts  of  home,  but 
to  feel  free  to  do  as  they  like,  which  they  couldn't  do 
in  a  hotel,  or  in  a  house  with  women  about." 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  173 

It  was  Hawkins  who  opened  the  door  to  Lyle  half 
an  hour  after  he  left  the  Star  office.  The  footman 
had  been  dispensed  with  for  this  day,  as  well  as  the 
feminine  servants.  "There's  no  one  at  'ome,  sir," 
Hawkins  said,  looking  superciliously  at  the  much  worn 
coat  of  the  man  before  him. 

"Louis  Sixteenth,"  replied  the  reporter. 

"Come  in,"  said  the  butler.  "Follow  me,"  and  he  led 
the  way  through  a  darkened  hallway. 

Lyle  stepped  upon  the  softest  of  Persian  rugs,  whose 
elusive  hues  were  lighted  up  by  only  an  occasional  ray 
from  a  colored  glass  window,  and  he  went  past  statues 
and  pictures  whose  outlines  he  but  vaguely  glimpsed. 
He  thought  he  detected  the  marbled  likeness  of  Julius 
Caesar  on  one  pedestal,  and  on  another  the  exquisite 
lines  of  a  Donatello  angel  such  as  he  had  seen  among 
Gorman's  donations  to  the  American  Museum  of  Art. 
But  before  he  could  take  a  second  look  at  anything  he 
was  at  the  end  of  the  hall,  and  had  passed  into  the  din- 
ing room,  with  its  richly  paneled  and  decorated  walls. 
Thence  the  butler  proceeded  into  a  rear  hallway,  say- 
ing, "Right  up  these  stairs,"  and  led  him  up  two 
flights.  The  guide  entered  a  small  but  well  furnished 
room,  sat  on  a  couch,  told  Lyle  to  be  seated  in  a  chair, 
and  then  began : 

"Hi  don't  know  a  blessed  thing  about  why  I'm  'ere, 
or  why  you're  'ere.  But  you're  to  work  'ere  as  a  waiter 
to-morrow — hif  you  wish,  sir.  Them's  my  horders. 
The  regular  butler's  hill,  and  'e  knows  nothing,  sir. 
Please  remember  that,  sir.  Now,  do  you  know  hany- 
thing  about  waiting  upon  gentlemen,  sir?" 

"I'll  be  glad  to  learn.  Do  anything  you  wish  with 
me  as  long  as  I'm  allowed  to  be  here  to-morrow  while 
the  conference  is  going  on." 


174  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

"Hi  know  nothing  of  any  conference,  sir.  There's  fo 
be  some  gentlemen  'ere  most  of  the  day.  You  can  be 
one  of  my  'elpers  with  the  lunch  and  things.  Come  at 
nine  in  the  morning  to  the  back  door,  hand  111  let  you 
in  and  give  you  your  hapron  and  things.  Hif  you're 
asked  questions,  say  your  name's  Pillsbury,  and  tell 
your  story  to  suit  yourself,  honly  saying  that  you're 
from  Stedman's  agency.  Hall  I'm  to  know  is  that  you 
was  recommended  by  a  friend  of  mine  that's  left  town. 
Hunderstand,  sir?" 

"Perfectly.  Now  give  me  your  orders.  You'll  find 
me  ready  to  do  anything  you  say.  Can  I  pay  you  for 
instructions — say,  twenty-five  or " 

"Not  a  cent,  sir." 

"All  right,  go  ahead  with  your  instructions,"  said 
Lyle,  who  wondered  if  the  butler  was  half  as  much 
puzzled  by  it  all  as  he  was. 

Who  was  his  mysterious  aid  and  informer,  who  had 
lifted  him  out  of  despondency,  and  placed  him  on  the 
road  to  success,  remaining  hidden  the  while  behind  the 
veil  of  anonymity?  Surely,  she  must  be  rich  and  pow- 
erful, as  well  as  good.  Good  she  certainly  was,  else 
she  would  not  thus  help  a  penniless  reporter,  and  in  a 
cause  that  might  mean  so  much  to  the  general  wel- 
fare. She  was  his  good  angel — nay,  she  was  a  stoop- 
ing goddess  thus  to  aid  him.    Why  had  she  done  it? 

After  two  hours  of  faithful  practice  in  the  duties  of 
a  waiter,  attired  in  a  lackey's  suit  of  dark  blue  with 
gold  trimmings,  Lyle  telephoned  to  the  Star  and  re- 
ported his  experiences.  "Go  home  and  get  a  good 
night's  sleep,"  he  was  told,  "and  be  on  hand  when 
things  begin  to  happen.  You'll  know  best  what  to  do 
then.  But  come  to  the  office  with  the  story  as  soon  as 
God  will  let  you !" 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  175 

CHAPTER    VIII 

THE  CREATION    OF  A  NEW  MONSTER 

Lyle  was  busily  polishing  the  buffet  mirror  in  the 
Jacobean  dining  hall  at  ten  o'clock  A.  M.,  when  the 
first  carriage  rolled  up  to  the  Gorman  home.  He  had 
not  yet  seen  the  master  of  the  house,  but  he  had  heard 
a  heavy,  resonant  voice  which  he  felt  sure  must  be  his, 
in  the  adjoining  library,  giving  final  orders  to  Hawkins 
for  the  comfort  of  the  guests.  It  was  the  voice  of  one 
used  to  being  obeyed. 

"Ah,  there's  Gluten — and  Padue,"  he  heard  the  voice 
say,  as  the  first  carriage  discharged  its  occupants.  And 
a  moment  later  the  men  were  in  the  library,  and 
another  carriage  had  arrived  with  two  more  visitors. 
Others  came  singly  and  by  twos  and  threes,  until  there 
were  twenty  in  the  house. 

Hawkins  entered  the  dining  room,  walked  up  to 
his  new  assistant,  and  said  in  low  tones,  "Keep  at  your 
work,  and  don't  say  a  word  unless  you're  spoke  to," 
and  passed  on.  Just  then  there  was  a  ring  from  the 
library,  and  Lyle  hurried  to  answer  it.  He  had  barely 
reached  the  threshold  when  a  voice  boomed  forth  from 
the  center  of  a  group  of  half  a  dozen  guests,  "Ask 
these  gentlemen  what  they'll  have,"  and  Lyle,  with  sub- 
missive mien  and  downcast  eyes,  went  the  rounds  and 
took  their  orders  for  drinks  or  cigars. 

And  so  began  the  conference  upon  which  the  fate 
of  the  nation  so  largely  hung.  As  Lyle,  in  the  imper- 
sonal garb  of  a  servant,  walked  freely  among  them,  lis- 
tening, observing,  meditating,  he  realized  from  their 
words,  if  he  had  not  realized  it  before,  that  here  were 


176  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

the  real  rulers  of  the  country.  Billions  of  wealth  were 
represented  here.  From  a  corner  of  his  eye  he  watched 
them  as  they  sat  upon  the  leather  upholstered  chairs 
and  sofas  and  settees,  and  admired  the  Flemish  oak 
wainscoting,  and  the  groined  and  vaulted  ceiling  of  the 
same  dark,  beautifully  grained  wood.  Some  of  them 
occasionally  opened  the  massive  book  case,  picked  up  a 
rare  edition  and  glanced  carelessly  through  a  few 
pages.  Others  strolled  into  the  Louis  Quatorze  draw- 
ing room  to  admire  its  rich  furnishings,  or  meandered 
into  the  dining  room  to  watch  the  gold  fish  sport  in  a 
great  glass  bowL  They  told  anecdotes  the  while  of 
fishing  trips,  or  of  railroad  building,  or  of  journeys  in 
private  cars  to  remote  parts  of  the  country,  and  in 
private  yachts  to  West  Indian  isles,  to  South  America, 
and  even  to  Mediterranean  shores.  And  in  the 
accounts  of  these  latter  journey ings  there  were  many 
things,  he  thought,  that  would  have  had  to  be  expur- 
gated if  printed  for  Sunday  school  libraries. 

Upon  the  dining  room  buffet  reposed  boxes  of  the 
choicest  cigars  from  Havana,  and  bottles  of  the  finest 
liqueurs  from  the  monasteries  of  France,  of  the  mel- 
lowest sherry  from  Spain,  of  port  from  Portugal,  and 
of  whiskies  oily  from  age,  and  containing  the  garnered' 
gladness  of  the  sunny  corn  and  rye  fields  of  old  Ken- 
tucky and  of  older  Scotland.  And  there  were  sand- 
wiches of  milk-fed  poultry,  of  Norwegian  sardines,  of 
Westphalia  ham,  of  French  cheese,  and  of  real  Russian 
caviar  of  the  kind  that  is  not  for  the  multitude — all 
these  and  other  delicacies  were  there  to  refresh  the 
bodies  of  these  masterful  men  while  their  brains  wres- 
tled with  the  problem  of  how  best  to  keep  a  nation 
obedient  to  their  wills.  But  Lyle  noticed  that  few  of 
them  ate  much,  and  that  they  drank  little  also,  save 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  177 

of  seltzer  or  soda  or  coffee.  Only  occasionally  did  any 
of  them  taste  of  the  whiskies  or  wines  or  of  the  insidi- 
ous liqueurs,  and  then  but  sparingly.  He  reasoned  that 
this  was  because  the  men  who  dominate  other  men  are 
the  kind  who  rule  themselves  as  well  on  important 
occasions,  and  one  cannot  properly  rule  one's  self 
when  the  head  is  in  the  clouds  and  the  brain  is  set 
a-reeling  by  liquid  sirens  that  sing  sweet  harmonies 
out  of  tune  with  this  earth  and  its  problems  of  cold, 
hard  fact. 

As  Lyie  passed  the  cigars  for  the  third  time  he 
noticed  that  the  velvet  hangings  had  been  taken  down 
from  between  the  oaken  pillars  with  their  Ionic  carven 
tops  that  divided  the  somber  library  from  the  cream 
and  gold  hued  drawing  room.  Hawkins  called  him, 
and  they,  with  two  other  lackeys,  now  placed  rows  of 
chairs  in  somewhat  the  manner  of  those  in  a  theater's 
auditorium.  When  these  chairs  had  been  filled,  Haw- 
kins stationed  Lyle  and  a  fellow  servant  behind  the  last 
row,  to  answer  any  call  made  upon  them. 

Soon  a  firm  and  resonant  voice  was  heard  asking  for 
order.  Then  all  other  voices  were  hushed,  and  all 
eyes  were  turned  toward  the  speaker.  He  stood  with 
his  left  hand  resting  upon  the  grand  piano,  his  right 
upraised  to  command  attention.  He  talked  in  slow 
and  measured  tones,  and  used  simple  language.  Nor 
did  these  men  want  oratory.  Oratory  appeals  to  the 
emotions.  These  men  had  no  emotions  that  they  could 
not  hold  in  obedience  to  their  wills. 

After  explaining  the  cause  of  the  meeting  and  the 
great  revenues  at  stake,  Gorman  said : 

"Competition  has  gone  too  far,  and  it  is  time  to  call 
a  halt.  I  am  authorized  to  say,"  and  here  his  eyes 
swept  slowly  over  all  the  faces  before  him,  "on  behalf 


178  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

of  the  banking  houses  represented  here,  that  if  an 
organization  can  be  formed  practically  upon  the  basis 
I  will  outline,  and  with  an  executive  board  able  to 
enforce  its  provisions,  on  which  the  bankers  shall  be 
represented,  they  will  not  negotiate,  and  will  do  every- 
ing  in  their  power  to  prevent  the  negotiation  of  any 
securities  for  the  building  of  parallel  competing  lines, 
or  for  the  extension  of  lines  not  approved  by  the  execu- 
tive board.    Let  this  be  distinctly  understood." 

"Ah,"  thought  Lyle,  "this  shows  how  the  men  who 
own  the  money  can  rule  the  men  who  own  the  railroads, 
who  rule  the  country."  He  longed  for  a  chance  to  put 
that  speech  on  paper  ere  he  forgot  its  salient  phrases. 
But  he  dared  not  change  for  an  instant  the  statue-like 
pose  he  and  his  fellow  lackey  were  maintaining.  He 
kept  his  hands  to  his  sides,  and  looked  straight  ahead, 
but  his  mind  was  busy  repeating  the  phrases  over  and 
over  again. 

"The  National  Railway  League  is  the  name  sug- 
gested for  our  new  association,"  and  as  he  said  this 
Gorman  paused  as  though  listening  for  any  dissenting 
voice.  He  heard  none.  Then  he  sat  down  before  a 
marble  topped,  golden  legged  table,  and  with  a  pair  of 
shears  cut  half  a  hundred  square  bits  of  paper  from  a 
large  blank  sheet.  He  wrote  something  on  each  square, 
and  then  called  out,  without  looking  up : 

"Hawkins,  send  me  two  cigar  boxes,  or  vases,  or 
something  else  to  hold  these  ballots." 

Within  half  a  minute  two  empty  cigar  boxes  were 
before  him.  He  then  looked  up  and  beckoned  to  the 
liveried  figures  behind  the  rows  of  seats.  When  Lyle 
and  the  other  walked  forward,  he  placed  a  box  in  the 
hands  of  each,  and  said : 

"One  of  these  boxes  contains  slips  marked  'No,'  and 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  179 

the  other  contains  slips  marked  'Yes.'  See  that  every 
gentleman  gets  one  of  each  kind."  In  louder  tones  he 
continued,  looking  now  at  the  assemblage : 

"Those  who  favor  the  forming  of  the  National  Rail- 
way League  will  vote  'Yes.'  They  who  want  to  keep 
up  a  ruinous  competition  will  vote  'No.'  Mark  your 
ballots  with  the  names  of  your  roads.  One  vote  will 
be  allowed  for  each  sphere  of  influence.  Do  not  write 
your  own  names." 

"How  appropriate,"  Lyle  muttered  to  himself. 
"Money  rather  than  men,  dollars  and  not  names,  not 
even  theirs,"  and  then  he  caught  his  breath  for  fear 
he  would  say  something  aloud. 

When  the  ballots  were  brought  back  Gorman 
poured  them  out  on  the  table  before  him.  Not  a  single 
'No'  was  among  them.  And  likewise  did  they  all  vote 
for  an  executive  board,  with  him  as  chairman.  Then 
the  ballots  were  passed  a  third  time,  and  an  agreement 
to  maintain  prevailing  rates  everywhere  was  approved. 

"And  who  are  these  men  who  meet  here  at  his  be- 
hest, meekly  and  cheerfully  take  his  orders,  keep  silent 
while  he  speaks,  and  vote  to  follow  where  he  leads?" 
Lyle  asked  himself,  as  he  passed  in  and  out  among 
them.  He  could  not  answer  the  question  satisfactorily, 
for  in  most  cases  these  powerful  personalities  were 
little  more  than  names  to  him.  He  was  later  to  com- 
prehend all  that  he  now  but  vaguely  understood. 

They  each  in  some  way  resembled  their  leader.  That 
is  to  say,  they  were  kindred  spirits,  all.  Their  begin- 
nings were  largely  alike,  as  were  their  methods,  their 
ideals,  their  goal.  What  he  had  become  nationally, 
each  of  them  was  locally,  save  those  whose  power 
extended  over  a  sufficient  number  of  States  to  make 
them  in   some   degree  his   rivals.     Not  one  of  them 


180  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

had  built  a  railway  or  a  part  of  a  railway.  They  were 
not  engineers,  or  surveyors,  or  layers  of  track,  or 
builders  of  bridges,  or  diggers  of  tunnels.  They  were 
not  makers  of  rails,  or  of  cars,  or  even  of  car  couplings. 
They  knew  neither  science  nor  mechanics.  They  were 
not  inventors  of  anything,  save  sordid  schemes.  Most 
of  the  railways  they  ruled  were  built  long  before  they 
came  into  possession  of  them,  and  many  were  built 
only  by  the  aid  of  public  appropriations. 

There  was  Burleson  of  the  Pacific  coast  railways, 
tall  and  spare,  with  eyes  cold,  hard  and  glittering,  with 
the  nose  of  an  eagle  and  the  face  of  a  hawk.  He  had 
traded  in  hardware  and  miners'  supplies  while  other 
men  risked  their  lives  seeking  gold  or  warring  with 
Indians.  And  while  Grant  and  his  legions  were  fight- 
ing the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  he  was  bribing  Con- 
gress for  land  grants  and  bond  issues  for  his  railways. 
"When  I  buy  a  man,  I  always  make  him  take  a  check, 
if  I  can,  for  when  the  check  comes  back,  I  own  the 
man,"  was  one  of  his  maxims. 

And  Gillman  of  the  Northwestern  was  there,  too. 
An  uncanny  Scot  was  he,  who  thought  little  of  "Auld 
Lang  Syne,"  but  looked  ever  to  the  future.  His  beady 
eyes  shone  above  a  thistle-like  beard  that  was  gray 
and  gloomy  as  the  mists  that  hang  over  a  moor  and 
hide  from  travelers  its  dangerous  places.  His  methods 
were  like  Burleson's,  except  for  lack  of  frankness 
Like  Burleson,  he  had  stayed  away  from  war,  trading 
while  others  fought.  How  he  bought  men  he  did  not 
say,  but  he  owned  many  newspapers,  some  of  them 
openly,  and  many  politicians  and  judges,  all  of  them 
secretly.  He  pretended  to  be  open  and  above  board 
in  all  his  dealings,  and  often  delivered  speeches  oc 
agriculture. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  181 

Beside  him  sat  the  aristocratic  De  Blick.  Well 
groomed,  soft  spoken  and  rather  bored  of  mien,  he  was 
the  only  man  present  not  "self-made."  His  grand- 
father, however,  had  been  such  in  every  sense  of  that 
term  as  exemplified  by  the  others.  The  founder  of  the 
family  wealth  had  stayed  far,  far  from  the  scenes  of 
battle  in  the  war  of  1812,  carrying  passengers  on  a 
ferry  instead  of  carrying  a  musket  or  a  sword  in  battle. 
The  Mexican  and  Civil  wars  had  meant  to  him  and  his 
sons  only  a  means  of  enlarging  their  gains,  and  they 
had  founded  one  of  the  first  of  the  families  of  Ameri- 
can multi-millionaires. 

Flanking  him  sat  his  favorite  lawyer,  Padue.  Witty 
was  this  Senator,  this  tribune  of  the  people,  and  wise  in 
season.  In  the  war  which  made  his  party  great  he 
bore  no  arms,  but  when  the  smoke  had  cleared  away 
he  mounted  public  platforms  and  become  a  most  valiant 
speaker  against  slavery.  He  was,  besides,  a  droll  fel- 
low well  met  about  banquet  boards,  with  his  Dundreary 
whiskers  and  his  unweary  tongue.  None  more  able 
than  he  to  make  the  worse  appear  the  better  reason, 
for  in  the  gales  of  merriment  his  words  created  his 
listeners'  sense  of  logic  was  often  swept  away.  His 
salary  was  greater  than  that  paid  by  the  people  to  their 
President,  and  it  was  well  earned,  his  master  thought, 
for  he  was  learned  in  the  law's  delay,  and  his  work 
before  courts  and  juries  had  in  it  little  of  jest. 

And  there  was  Bronson,  Gorman's  chief  legal  aid. 
Battles  over  points  of  law  were  the  only  kind  of  war- 
fare he  had  ever  known.  The  deliberation  that  sat 
deep  engraven  on  his  front  was  no  mere  pose.  His 
advice  on  the  best  ways  of  keeping  out  of  prison  was 
esteemed  more  highly  than  that  of  any  living  light  oi 
jurisprudence.     The   public  knew  him   little,   and  he 


182  THE  AMERICAN  EMT'EROR 

was  content  that  this  be  so.  To  him  the  public  was  an 
ass,  and  he  cared  not  for  its  brays  of  praise,  nor  did  he 
like  to  venture  near  enough  to  risk  its  kicks.  His  elo- 
quence was  for  the  ears  of  the  elect. 

Here,  too,  was  Gluten,  and  in  the  front  row — that 
creature  with  eyes  and  beard  of  raven  hue,  with 
Hebraic,  vulture-like  nose,  and  with  the  soul  of  a  vam- 
pire. He  had  made  honor  and  faith  and  good  intent 
a  sorry  joke  in  railways,  in  telegraphs,  in  all  he 
touched.  He  had  begun  as  a  clerk  in  a  country  store, 
showing  all  of  the  talent  in  trading  that  is  expected 
of  one  of  the  Chosen  People.  Not  him  could  the  rabbis 
blame  if  his  race  became  borrowers  and  not  lenders. 
He  never  borrowed.  He  stole.  And  he  did  not  lend. 
He  bought,  with  stolen  funds,  politicians,  and  judges 
and  newspapers.  He  had  wrecked  railway  systems  and 
robbed  thousands  of  investors,  and  caused  scores  of 
suicides.  "Beware  of  Gluten — his  touch  is  the  touch 
of  death,"  had  become  a  Wall  Street  maxim. 

And  here,  above  these  and  all  the  others,  Clay  Jef- 
ferson Gorman,  exalted,  sat,  with  a  kind  of  majesty. 
Not  a  man  there  but  had  either  felt  his  greater  power, 
or  admired  or  envied  his  greater  success.  Now,  they 
were  learning  more  of  the  peculiar  force  of  his  char- 
acter, of  his  audacity,  of  his  genius  in  the  planning 
and  doing  of  big  deeds.  And  no  voice  was  raised 
against  him — not  that  they  loved  him  much,  or  at  all. 
Some  of  them  hated  him,  and  few  liked  him  even  a 
little.  But  they  all  loved  success  more,  and  he  could 
lead  them  to  success.  He,  himself,  was  success  per- 
sonified. Had  any  of  the  plans  of  that  master  mind 
ever  been  known  to  fail?  None,  though  many  were 
the  midnight  schemes  laid  to  ensnare  him.  He  had 
passed   by    every   ambush,   and   taken   every   redoubt 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  183 

sooner  or  later,  showing  strength  in  ways  unexpected, 
having  aids  wherever  needed;  in  legislative  halls,  in 
executive  offices,  or  on  the  bench. 

And  all  that  day  he  and  they  worked  in  harmony, 
weaving  the  gigantic  web  that  was  to  enmesh  sixty 
millions  of  people  in  bands  of  steel.  These  people  were 
all  unconscious  of  what  was  impending  for  them.  Like 
careless  flies  flitting  about  in  the  sun,  seemed  many  of 
them,  who  were  laughing  and  chatting  gaily  as  they 
passed  under  the  very  windows  of  the  house  where 
the  web  was  being  woven.  These  people  seemed  to 
think  that  every  invention,  every  advancement  of 
science  was  for  the  real  betterment  of  them  all,  and 
were  ready  to  hail  as  a  benefactor  every  one  who  pro- 
posed to  extend  those  benefits  upon  almost  any  terms. 
They  forgot  that  the  republic's  constitution  makers 
could  have  foreseen  few,  if  any,  cf  the  wonders  of 
science  that  were  making  the  nineteenth  century  blaze 
with  glory.  They  forgot  that  even  the  discovery  of 
oil  as  an  illuminant  was  still  in  the  womb  of  Time 
when  Washington  and  Jefferson  and  Jackson  had  been 
carried  to  their  tombs.  And  out  of  the  conflicting 
forces  in  the  oil-fields  came  the  first  of  those  combina- 
tions of  capital  known  as  trusts,  to  be  followed  by  so 
many  others,  monstrous  distortions  of  the  power  of 
incorporation  which,  octopus-like,  with  head  in  one 
State  and  tentacles  in  all  the  others,  sucked  the  life 
blood  of  commerce  and,  chameleon-like,  assumed  hues 
in  keeping  with  every  locality. 

But  here  was  a  monster  being  created  in  secret,  and 
meant  to  remain  ever  invisible  to  the  people  it  de- 
spoiled. It  was  to  strike  from  the  dark,  or  from  seem- 
ingly nowhere.  It  was  to  have  no  color,  no  apparent 
form,   no  corporate  being.     Yet  it  was   to   be   more 


184  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

powerful  than  all  the  others,  which  were  to  be  merely 
its  aids  or  dependants,  for  as  blood  and  arteries  are  to 
the  human  body,  it  was  to  be  to  the  body  politic.  It 
controlled  money,  the  life  blood  of  commerce,  and  the 
railways,  now  become  the  arteries  of  commerce. 

It  was  in  no  sense  chosen  by  the  people,  nor  was  it 
even  to  be  consciously  tolerated  by  the  people,  yet  it 
was  planned  to  rule,  and  rule  always,  having  no  term 
to  be  fixed  by  the  fickle  masses  or  their  representatives. 
It  was  unofficial.  It  was  unlawful.  Aye,  it  was  the 
antithesis  of  both  law  and  the  duly  created  powers  of 
office :  it  was  criminal.  And  yet  it  was  to  be  more 
powerful  than  any  mere  official  or  set  of  officials,  than 
any  law  or  set  of  laws.  It  was  to  make  laws,  and  have 
laws  set  aside  or  defined  as  it  wished.  And  it  was  to 
make  or  unmake  officials  in  vastly  greater  number  than 
any  or  all  of  its  organizers  had  made  or  unmade  them 
before.  Existing  outside  of  the  law,  in  defiance  of  law, 
it  was  yet  to  become  both  law  and  government. 


CHAPTER  IX 

A  SECOND  MYSTERIOUS  MESSAGE 

It  was  two  days  later  that  Holmes,  seeing  Lyle  in 
the  Press  Club  library,  slapped  him  on  the  back  and 
congratulated  him  upon  his  "beat"  about  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  National  Railway  League. 

"A  great  story — it  will  go  down  in  newspaper  his- 
tory," he  rhapsodized.  "I  notice  all  the  papers  had  to 
follow  suit,  including  even  the  Trumpet,  friendly 
though  it  is  to  big  interests.    You  can  bet  I  told  'em 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  185 

up  there  that  it  was  your  work.  Of  course,  you're  on 
the  regular  Star  staff  now  ?" 

"Yes,"  said  Lyle.  "But  the  Star  didn't  print  all  of 
my  story.  They  cut  out  some  of  the  strongest  parts, 
such  as  the  references  to  the  thing  being  a  criminal 
conspiracy." 

"Oh,  well,  you  can't  expect  any  newspaper  to  tell 
the  whole  truth  about  anything,  especially  when  its 
owner's  interests  are  affected.  Bilstine  holds  shares  in 
some  of  those  roads,  you  know." 

"Is  that  possible?" 

"Sure,  and  he  cares  only  about  protecting  his  own 
property  there  and  elsewhere.  He's  a  shrewd  business 
man,  and  he  wants  to  make  the  Star  the  most  popular 
and  influential  sheet  in  America.  He  doesn't  like  Gor- 
man a  little  bit,  and  yet  he  won't  oppose  him  very 
strongly  in  this  scheme,  for  fear  of  endangering  his 
own  pocketbook.  Being  one  of  the  Chosen  People,  his 
heart  is  not  far  from  his  pocketbook  at  any  time.  Be- 
sides, he  has  social  ambitions — wants  his  daughter  to 
marry  into  the  swell  set." 

"But  a  Star  editorial  to-day  demands  the  prosecution 
of  these  men." 

"That's  only  a  bluff ;  a  mild  editorial  written  by  the 
old  man  himself,  just  strong  enough  to  attract  popular 
support,  while  your  story  was  toned  down.  Less  and 
less  will  be  said  about  this  matter  by  any  of  the  papers, 
after  the  denials  by  the  secretaries  of  these  big  men 
have  been  printed — denials  that  the  real  intention  of 
the  league  is  what  you  said  it  was,  you  know.  Any- 
how, none  of  those  fellows  will  be  prosecuted.  Why  ? 
If  you  knew  how  much  they  contributed  to  elect  the 
President  who  appointed  their  choice  for  Attorney 
General  you  would  understand  just  why.     The  Presi- 


1 86  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

dent  wants  to  be  re-elected,  you  know,  and  against 
their  combined  opposition  he  never  could  be  even  nom- 
inated. They  sometimes  go  to  Washington  and  give 
the  old  boy  straight  talk.  You  would  be  surprised  to 
know  the  language  they  use  to  him.  'You  won't  get  a 
damned  cent  for  your  campaign,'  they  tell  him.  And 
then  they  send  political  leaders  to  him,  and  they 
know  the  language  they  use  to  him.  'You  won't  get  a 
single  delegate  to  the  next  convention.'  I  was  in  Wash- 
ington for  several  months  as  a  correspondent,  and  I 
know  how  things  are  sometimes  done.  It's  largely  be- 
cause a  President  has  so  short  a  term  that  even  when 
he's  honest  he  can  barely  start  a  reform  before  it  is 
time  to  elect  his  successor. 

"But  I  didn't  know  you  were  a  member  here," 
Holmes  added. 

"I'm  not.  A  friend  from  the  Star  brought  me  over," 
and  Lyle  looked  about  him  with  interest.  Above  the 
rows  of  books  the  walls  were  decorated  with  original 
drawings  of  cartoons  that  had  done  service  in  previous 
campaigns,  and  with  pictures  of  Greeley  and  other 
famous  journalists.  In  the  place  of  greatest  promi- 
nence, however,  was  a  drawing  of  a  human  skull, 
crowned  with  laurel-leaves,  and  resting  upon  a  pile  of 
books.  Underneath  were  the  words  :  "WHAT'S  THE 
USE?" 

"Let's  sit  down  over  here  in  the  corner  and  order  a 
bottle  of  something,"  said  Holmes.  "You  ought  to 
join  here,  since  you've  become  a  fixture  in  town." 

"So  Mason,  of  the  Star,  told  me.  It  was  he  who 
brought  me  over.  He  said  the  club  needed  more  mem- 
bers who  would  pay  their  dues,  and  added  that  a  lot 
of  tradespaper  people,  and  politicians,  and  doctors  who 
had   written   pamphlets   on   almost  any   subject,   and 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  187 

various  kinds  of  persons  who  should  never  have  been 
admitted,  are  members  because  they  are  needed  to  keep 
the  club  going." 

"That's  it ;  newspaper  men  are  not  to  be  depended  on 
to  pay  their  dues.     Even  when  they  don't  spend  their 
money  for  booze,  they're  never  sure  of  holding  a  posi- 
tion for  long.    Or,  even  if  they  don't  fake  too  much— 
or  too  little— they  may  offend  some  petty  tyrant  who 
himself  has  but  temporary  power  over  them,  and  be 
ousted  without  notice,  no  matter  how  many  years  of 
faithful  service  they  have  rendered.     It's  a  dog's  life, 
and  yet  I  know  nothing  else,  and  so  I  stay  at  it." 
"What  do  you  think  of  my  chances  with  the  Star?" 
"Oh,  you're  a  fixture  now,  as  much  as  any  of  us,  and 
you've' won  out  over  big  odds,  and  without  faking. 
Your  record  is  exceptional.     By  the  way,  have  you 
found  out  who  sent  you  that  tip  ?" 

"No,  and  I  can't  guess.  I  think  of  her  as  a  mys- 
terious angel,"  and  Lyle  gazed  dreamily  into  space. 
"Why  she  should  select  me  I  don't  understand.  I  have 
no  women  friends  in  town." 

"That  part  is  a  mystery,"  said  Holmes,  ordering  a 
second  bottle,  of  which  he  drank  the  most,  for  Lyle  had 
not  cultivated  the  average  journalistic  taste  for  drink. 
"But  her  motive  is  easier  to  figure  out.  She  probably 
belongs  to  some  family  that's  been  ruined,  or  is  about 
to  be  ruined  by  Gorman.  This  expose  won't  stop  him 
and  his  crowd,  though  it  may  cause  them  a  little 
trouble.  Nothing  seems  really  to  stop  them,  any  more 
than  building  breakwaters  stops  the  movements  of  the 

tides  themselves.    For  instance " 

Just  then  a  steward  entered,  crying  out :  "Telephone 
for  Mr.  Lyle !" 

When  Lyle  answered  the  call,  it  was  to  learn  that  he 


1 88  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

was  wanted  at  the  Star  office  at  once.  A  letter  marked 
important  had  just  arrived  there  for  him  by  special  de- 
livery. The  time  was  barely  noon,  and  he  was  not  due 
at  the  office  for  an  hour,  but  he  hurried  over,  to  find  a 
missive  in  the  same  handwriting  that  had  led  him  to 
the  Gorman  residence.    This  time  he  read : 

"A  splendid  report  in  yesterday  morning's  Star.  An- 
other triumph  almost  as  big  awaits  you  if  you  learn  what 
transpires  in  Pittstown,  Pennsylvania,  Friday  and  Satur- 
day of  this  week.  A  big  coal  combination  is  to  be  formed. 
Burn  this  letter." 

"What  do  you  think  of  this,  Mr.  Allen  ?"  asked  Lyle, 
handing  the  letter  to  the  city  editor.  "I  assure  you  I 
don't  know  any  more  about  it  myself  than  I  knew 
about  the  first  one." 

The  anemic  face  of  Allen  lighted  up  as  he  perused 
the  letter.  "It  means  another  big  story,  if  it  means 
anything,"  and  he  squinted  at  the  script,  as  though 
trying  to  decipher  a  name  from  the  various  combina- 
tions of  words.  "Some  woman  is  after  Gorman,  that's 
sure.  Wouldn't  it  be  a  beautiful  story  if  she  should 
take  a  shot  at  him  the  way  the  mistress  of  Flickens, 
the  Wall  Street  shark,  potted  him  in  a  theater  lobby? 
But  this  is  better,  in  a  way,  for  us,  since  we  have  it 
exclusive.  Anyhow,  you'd  better  have  a  talk  with  the 
managing  editor.  This  is  Sunday,  and  there  is  ample 
time  to  lay  your  plans  for  a  beat  before  next  Friday." 

Phillips,  the  managing  editor,  was  younger  than  his 
subordinate,  as  is  not  infrequently  the  case  in  journal- 
ism, where  mental  alertness  and  physical  vigor  com- 
bine with  chance  to  raise  young  men  above  older, 
though  more  experienced,  and,  often,  better  educated 
men.  Phillips  was  a  kind  of  human  dynamo,  who 
spent  from  twelve  to  sixteen  hours  a  day  at  his  desk, 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  189 

and  expected  those  under  him  to  toil  as  hard,  for  much 
less  money.  He  was  an  ideal  journalist  of  the  suc- 
cessful American  type,  a  type  very  much  like  that  of 
the  ideal  condottiere  of  the  early  Italian  republics.  His 
master's  interests  came  first,  but  only  as  long  as  he  was 
well  paid.  When  the  enemy  offered  him  more  money, 
then  the  enemy  became  his  master.  Phillips  had 
worked  his  way  up  in  the  service  of  a  Gorman  paper, 
and  when  Bilstine  offered  him  a  bigger  salary  than  he 
had  been  receiving,  he  cheerfully  served  Bilstine  in 
attacking  Gorman.  Had  an  agent  of  Gorman  offered 
him  an  increase  over  the  salary  he  now  received,  he 
would  have  served  Gorman  just  as  loyally  as  he  was 
serving  his  present  master.  No  granite  was  harder  in 
appearance  than  his  strong  lower  jaw,  through  the  skin 
of  which,  even  after  a  close  shave,  the  hair  showed  in 
a  myriad  of  tiny  blue-black  points.  And  no  steel  was 
more  cold  than  the  glitter  of  his  eyes  when  listening  to 
a  plea  that  the  paper  correct  an  injustice  done  to  some 
one  whose  wrongs  did  not  concern  himself  or  his 
employer. 

"Draw  up  a  chair  and  sit  down,  Mr.  Lyle,"  said 
Phillips,  with  a  smile.  "You  did  very  good  work  on 
that  railway  combine."  Lyle  flushed  with  pleasure,  for 
this  was  as  high  praise  as  any  one  ever  got  in  journal- 
ism. "I'll  go  into  the  history  of  this  coal  situation  a 
bit  so  that  you  may  know  along  just  what  line  to 
work,"  continued  the  managing  editor.  "You  see, 
Gorman  has  just  acquired  the  Philadelphia  and  Pitts- 
town  road,  and  that,  with  the  other  lines  he  has  con- 
trolled for  so  long,  makes  him  a  big  factor  in  the  coal 
fields.  How  he  got  this  last  and  most  important  road 
I  won't  stop  to  explain  fully  now,  but  it  was  by  the 
help  of  the  banking  clique  you  saw  at  his  house  the 


190  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

other  day.  McAdams,  of  the  Pittstown  road,  wanted 
to  float  new  bond  issues  to  get  money  for  improve- 
ments and  extensions,  so  as  to  develop  unmined  de- 
posits. He  applied  first  to  Gorman's  banking-house, 
and  it  was  then  that  this  scheme  was  probably  born. 
McAdams  was  told  that  he  could  not  be  accommodated 
there,  but  to  go  to  Barton,  Slode  and  Company.  That 
firm  sent  him  away  with  the  same  statement,  naming 
another  banking-house,  and  so  it  was  with  two  or  three 
other  houses.  At  the  same  time,  Gorman  and  De  Blick, 
who  now  work  together  instead  of  against  each  other, 
sent  agents  into  the  stock  market  with  the  story  that 
McAdams  couldn't  raise  money  on  his  road.  They 
beat  down  the  price  of  shares,  and  scared  enough 
stockholders  into  selling  out  to  give  them  control. 
Money  was  then  easily  found  to  float  a  bond  issue  for 
the  road.  You  see  how  the  bankers  can  work  together 
against  any  other  interest.  Well,  having  got  into  the 
coal  fields,  these  men  will  probably  join  with  other 
railway  and  mine  owners,  and  prices  of  coal  will  go  up, 
or  I'm  badly  mistaken. 

"When  you  get  to  Pittstown,  wire  in  all  you  can 
learn,  and  never  mind  expense.  But  let's  see,  that  con- 
ference doesn't  begin  till  Friday.  Here's  something  I 
want  you  to  do  meantime.  We  have  a  rumor  that  a 
well  known  actress  is  going  to  sue  for  divorce.  Hei 
husband  is  a  fast  young  millionaire,  and  a  friend  oi 
Bilstine,  the  owner  here.  I  want  you  to  follow  that 
actress  for  a  couple  of  days,  and  see  if  you  can't  learn 
about  her  conduct,  so  that  in  case  she  does  bring  that 
suit  we  can  have  some  interesting  matter  about  her." 
"But  has  this  anything  to  do  with  the  coal  story?" 
"Oh,  no,"  said  Phillips.  "It  is  something  to  keep  you 
busy  till  the  day  you  leave  for  Pittstown." 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  191 

Lyle  inwardly  rebelled  against  the  task.  He  felt  that 
it  would  degrade  him  to  the  level  of  a  cheap  detective. 
To  become  a  common  spy,  and  perhaps  help  to  ruin  the 
character  of  a  woman  who  had  never  harmed  him,  and 
whom  he  did  not  even  know,  and  to  do  this  for  hire — 
was  this  journalism  ?  For  a  moment  he  could  scarcely 
refrain  from  crying  out  in  righteous  indignation 
against  so  ignoble  a  proposal.  But  he  crushed  down 
this  feeling.  He  wanted  to  achieve  great  things  in  his 
profession,  even  if  he  had  to  wade  through  mire  to  do 
so.  He  accepted  the  assignment,  and  was  glad  to  re- 
port, after  three  days,  that  he  could  learn  nothing  to 
the  discredit  of  the  woman.  Then  he  started  for 
Pittstown. 


CHAPTER  X 


THE    COAL   TRUST 


"But  the  State  constitution  forbids  railway  com- 
panies to  own  or  operate  coal  mines." 

"What  is  the  constitution  between  friends?"  and 
Gorman  laughed  loudly  at  his  own  joke.  He  was 
joined  by  about  a  dozen  others,  and  the  general  mer- 
riment infected  even  the  grave  and  reverend  Bronson, 
who  had  quoted  the  law.  The  counselor's  chuckle,  as 
well  as  the  guffaws  of  the  others,  penetrated  distinctly 
to  the  adjoining  room  in  the  Pittstown  hotel,  where 
Lyle  sat,  with  his  ear  against  the  partition. 

"Nevertheless,  it  is  well  to  know  what  obstacles  we 
must  circumvent,"  Bronson  continued,  "and  that  is 
what  I  am  here  to  tell  you.     You  railroad  men  can 


192  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

organize  hojding  companies,  made  up  of  your  clerks, 
bookkeepers  and  office  boys,  and  tell  them  whom  to 
elect  as  directors.  In  that  way  you  can  manage  as  you 
wish  the  mines  you  get  control  of,  and  be  entirely 
within  the  law." 

"The  situation,  then,  is  this,"  followed  in  the  voice 
of  Gorman.  "You  operators  represent  three-fourths 
of  the  anthracite  coal  mines  of  this  State,  and  that 
means  that  you  control  almost  three-fourths  of  the 
whole  country's  yearly  output  of  sixty  to  seventy  mill- 
ion tons,  for  there  are  not  a  hundred  thousand  tons 
mined  in  all  the  other  States  together.  This  State  also 
produces  three  times  as  much  soft  coal  as  any  other, 
or  nearly  half  of  the  country's  total.  Therefore,  if  you 
stand  together,  you  can  dictate  both  the  price  of  coal 
and  the  wages  of  the  miners.  When  you  consider  that 
in  the  United  States  there  is  mined  a  little  less  than  half 
of  the  world's  coal  supply  you  will  realize  your  power. 

"And  now  for  the  point :  The  railroad  owners,  who 
have  acquired  some  mines,  and  will  acquire  others, 
want  to  help  you  better  your  position.  If  you  sign  this 
agreement  as  to  prices  and  wages,  your  coal  will  be 
hauled  on  our  roads  at  one-third  the  rate  charged 
others.  And  you  will  get  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  more 
for  each  ton  from  the  consumers.  It  means  millions 
a  year  more  in  profit,  so  why  should  you  hesitate?" 

"Won't  this  be  a  combination  in  restraint  of  trade?" 
asked  one  of  the  mine  owners.  "You  know  the  coun- 
try is  stirred  up  about  that  question." 

"It  will  not  mean  any  such  thing,"  came  in  the 
smooth  tones  of  Bronson.  "The  law  you  refer  to  is  a 
federal  law.  You  all  do  business  in  one  State.  Opera- 
tors in  the  other  States  may  later  get  together  in  a 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  193 

similar  way,  but  you  need  not  appear  to  know  about 
it." 

"But  if  we  refuse,  what  then?"  another  operator 
wanted  to  know. 

"Those  of  you  who  decline  to  have  money  put  into 
your  pockets  will  find  that  your  wiser  competitors  will 
take  away  even  the  business  you  now  have,"  responded 
the  voice  of  Gorman.  "And  when  you  try  to  build 
opposition  roads,  nobody  will  be  found  to  buy  your 
bonds." 

"There  will  be  a  lot  of  howling  from  the  papers,  and 
from  politicians.  Congress  may  investigate  us,"  said  a 
timid  operator. 

"Let  them  howl  and  investigate.  We  will  own  the 
coal  and  the  railroads." 

"An  added  profit  of  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  a  ton  on 
only  forty  million  tons — and  we  can  control  more  than 
that — will  mean  fifty  millions  more  each  year  from  the 
consumers."  This  statement  followed  the  scratching 
of  a  pen  by  a  person  who  had  evidently  been  figuring 
up  totals. 

"Fifty  millions — that  is  quite  a  pile  of  money  to  look 
over,"  some  one  else  remarked. 

"I  don't  think  the  investigators  will  overlook  it  all, 
either,  from  what  I  know  of  politicians,"  yet  another 
voice  put  in,  and  again  there  was  a  general  burst  of 
merriment. 

"What  excuse  will  we  give  for  putting  up  prices?" 
inquired  the  timid  operator  again. 

"A  shortage  in  supply,  of  course,"  responded  Gor- 
man. "We  will  see  that  articles  on  this  subject  are 
printed  and  circulated  everywhere." 

"And  it  would  be  well,"  said  Bronson,  "if  any  writ- 
ing persons  come  around  to  you  gentlemen  asking  for 


194  THE  AMERICAN   EMPEROR 

figures,  to  afford  them  no  satisfaction.  Give  accurate 
figures  about  nothing,  except  under  oath,  and  even  then 
your  memory  need  not  be  infallible.  There  is  too  much 
at  stake." 

This  and  much  else  did  Lyle  hear  that  day  and  the 
next,  as  he  listened  in  an  uncomfortable  room  to  the 
voices  of  a  score  of  men  who  were  planning  to  seize 
the  coal  trade  of  a  nation.  He  had  arrived  after  an  all 
night  ride  from  New  York.  At  the  only  hotel,  which 
was  one  of  the  two  brick  buildings  in  the  town,  he 
learned  that  rooms  had  been  engaged  "for  a  party  of 
gentlemen  who  were  to  stay  a  couple  of  days."  By 
careful  questioning  he  found  out  what  room  was  to  be 
occupied  by  the  leaders  of  the  party,  and  then  he  be- 
trayed a  desire  to  use  the  adjoining  room.  This  desire 
was  costly  to  the  Star,  for  the  wily  hotel  proprietor 
charged  him  seven  dollars  a  day  for  the  room,  which, 
on  ordinary  occasions,  could  have  been  had  for  one. 

"Some  detective  that's  tryin'  to  trail  down  a  New 
York  millionaire  murderer,"  the  hotel  keeper  said  to 
his  wife  that  night.  He  had  recently  been  reading  sen- 
sational fiction.  "Anyhow,  these  detectives  always  has 
plenty  of  money,  and  we  might  as  well  git  some  of  it." 

Lyle  pretended  to  be  a  hardware  salesman,  but  as  he 
stayed  in  the  hotel  lobby  listening  to  the  conversations 
of  the  well-dressed  visitors  as  long  as  they  were  about, 
and  then  went  to  his  room  and  remained  there  while 
the  secret  meeting  was  in  progress,  the  hotel  keeper 
thought  him  a  crude  detective,  which  he  was. 

When  Gorman  looked  at  him  intently  across  the 
hotel  lobby  on  the  second  morning,  Lyle  flushed,  and 
then  started  to  light  a  cigarette,  but  dropped  the  first 
match,  and  burnt  his  fingers  with  the  second.  But  the 
magnate's  attention  was  distracted  at  this  moment,  and 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  195 

when  he  again  looked,  Lyle  was  seated  in  a  wide-armed 
lobby  chair,  with  his  feet  on  a  low  window-sill,  non- 
chalantly blowing  smoke  ceilingward. 

Lyle  wrote  in  his  room  until  ten  o'clock  P.  M.  after 
the  second  and  last  day  of  the  conference,  and  when 
he  passed  through  the  silent  hotel  corridors  on  his  way 
to  the  telegraph  office  he  realized  that  the  conspirators 
had  all  left  town.  He  decided  to  stay  over  the  follow- 
ing day  and  see  the  interior  of  a  coal  mine.  Now  that 
the  owners  were  gone,  there  was  little  need  for  secrecy. 
He  applied  to  the  mine  superintendent  for  a  pass,  say- 
ing he  wanted  to  write  a  descriptive  article  for  the 
Sunday  Star,  and  the  pass  was  freely  given  him.  Such 
courtesies  are  seldom  refused  to  metropolitan  journals. 

As  he  walked  down  the  village  street  the  next  morn- 
ing, he  thought  of  Pittstown  and  its  surroundings  as  a 
blot  on  a  beautiful  landscape.  The  Alleghanies  in  the 
distance  were  green  topped,  and  picturesquely  draped 
with  a  purplish  haze,  but  here  the  mountain-side  had 
been  cruelly  ravaged,  and  it  seemed  that  from  its 
wounds  had  come  black  blood.  This  blood  had  coagu- 
lated into  what  upon  closer  view  was  seen  to  be  pyra- 
mids of  sifted  anthracite,  and  great  hills  of  culm  and 
slag.  Among  these  gigantic  excrescences  were  frame 
buildings,  and  railway  cars,  and  wagons,  and  mules, 
and  men,  all  mottled  with  the  dust  of  coal  and  the  dust 
of  clay.  These  objects,  and  occasionally  women  and 
children  with  soiled  clothes  and  soiled  faces,  all 
blended  with  their  environment.  Lyle  felt  depressed. 
Humanity  seemed  to  have  come  here  only  to  wound 
the  beauty  of  nature,  and  had  remained  to  aggravate 
the  wound. 

He  presented  his  pass  to  the  assistant  superintendent 
at  a  little  shack  between  two  immense  pyramids  of 


196  THE   AMERICAN    EMPEROR 

slag,  and  was  told  that  he  could  go  down  with  the  next 
party  of  miners.  Three  empty  iron  cars  stood  on  a 
track  in  front  of  an  enormous  crane.  On  this  crane 
was  a  steel  cable  that  wound  or  unwound  as  the  cars 
were  raised  or  lowered. 

With  a  guide  and  four  others  Lyle  entered  the  first 
car,  and  crouched  on  the  dust  covered  bottom,  while 
he  righted  the  oil-flare  on  the  visor  of  the  cap  that  had 
been  given  him.  A  signal  wire  rattled,  and  he  was 
told  that  a  bell  was  sounding  in  the  depths.  A  parallel 
wire  jerked  in  response,  and  a  gong  struck  near  by. 
Then  the  cars  began  their  downward  roll. 

Suddenly  the  glare  of  the  sun  was  replaced  by  a 
blackness  that  was  pierced  in  half  a  dozen  places  by 
the  flickering  light  of  the  smoky  lamps.  The  car  was 
sliding  into  the  depths,  under  the  great  timbers  and  the 
bare  rock  of  a  tunnel  which  he  but  occasionally 
glimpsed  overhead.  The  declivity  increased  until  the 
rails  became  almost  vertical,  and  the  cables  strained 
and  groaned  and  the  car  rattled  so  that  Lyle,  at  times, 
held  his  breath,  fearing  that  the  machinery  had  broken 
and  that  they  were  falling  into  an  abyss.  But  after  a 
time,  and  when  he  felt  they  had  dropped  for  miles,  the 
straining  and  rattling  gradually  ceased,  and  the  guide 
called  out,  "Thirteen  hundred  foot  level !" 

The  car  came  to  a  full  halt,  and  all  stepped  out  into 
a  gloomy  cavern.  To  Lyle  the  sooty  faces  of  his  com- 
panions appeared  as  black  masks,  in  which  their  eyes 
gleamed  like  the  eyes  of  frightened  negroes.  Few 
words  were  said  by  anyone,  and  these  only  in  under- 
tones. A  short  distance  from  the  car  the  four  miners 
silently  disappeared  up  a  tunneled  way. 

Lyle  looked  at  the  dark,  mysterious  face  of  his 
guide,  and  felt  something  akin  to  a  shudder  as  he  re- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  197 

alized  that  he  was  now  alone  with  him  in  the  eternal 
night  of  the  underworld,  where  the  gloom  was  relieved 
only  by  the  feebly  twinkling  stars  of  light  upon  their 
caps.  What  if  this  man  were  a  maniac  who  should 
suddenly  decide  to  murder  him?  He  might  be  slain,  and 

lie  buried  in  these  abysmal  depths,  where Just 

then  the  guide  spoke,  and  the  visitor's  apprehensions 
vanished,  for  the  tones  were  low  and  pleasant,  and  the 
words  well  chosen.    The  man  was  a  foreman. 

"This  is  your  first  trip  below,  I  take  it  ?"  he  said,  and 
when  told  that  he  was  right  he  added  that  he  would 
explain  things  more  fully.  As  they  walked  along  he 
pointed  out  the  little  stalls  and  chambers  off  the  breast 
of  headings  and  gangways  in  which  men  toiled,  kneel- 
ing upon  beds  of  shining  coal  and  digging  above,  be- 
low, and  all  around  them.  He  showed  the  braddish- 
men  adjusting  wooden  doors  or  partitions  in  the  air- 
ways or  cross-cuts,  and  stopping  beside  an  immense 
pillar  of  anthracite,  he  said,  "This  is  left  to  help  uphold 
the  roof.  At  the  end,  it,  too,  will  be  taken,  and  the 
mine  will  be  abandoned  to  its  fate. 

"See  those  stables?"  and  he  pointed  to  a  row  of 
stalls  hewed  out  of  the  rock  where  a  dozen  patient 
mules  were  munching  hay.  "Well,  those  mules  were 
born  right  there,  and  they  will  work  their  lives  out  in 
this  darkness,  and  here  they  will  die." 

They  walked  on.  Suddenly  they  saw  flashing  lights 
ahead,  and  heard  rumbling  sounds.  "And  those  boys 
driving  the  mules  hitched  to  those  iron  cars,"  the  guide 
continued ;  "they  don't  see  much  more  of  the  sun  than 
the  animals  do.  They  are  too  young  to  work  this  way, 
but — you're  a  writer,  are  you,  and  you  won't  say  I  told 
you  this  ?    Well,  the  mine  inspectors  are  the  friends  of 


198  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

the  owners,  and  they  don't  ask  too  closely  about  the 
ages  of  the  poor  boys  here." 

The  guide  knew  the  mine  as  a  bee  knows  its  hive. 
He  took  his  guest  at  an  easy,  swinging  gate  along  the 
black,  muddy  tracks  on  which  the  iron  cars  had  rolled 
until  they  came  to  a  lofty  chamber,  a  cavern  within  a 
cavern.  This  was  the  lair  of  a  scaly  dragon  which 
gushed  forth  streams  of  water  as  thick  as  a  barrel. 
"The  machinery — the  pumps  and  engines,"  said  the 
guide.  "They  send  power  through  iron  pipes  into 
every  part  of  the  mine." 

When  they  had  gone  what  seemed  to  be  a  half  mile 
or  more  beyond  this  point  they  arrived  at  another  air- 
door.  "What  are  those  crosses  chalked  upon  the  cas- 
ings?" Lyle  asked.  "They  mean  danger  from  blast- 
ing," was  the  reply,  and  the  guide  led  him  quickly  in 
another  direction.  "The  shale  is  often  so  loosened  that 
it  falls  and  keeps  falling  till  men  are  buried  alive.  They 
sometimes  get  a  man  out  by  quick  surgery,  but  the  sur- 
gery is  crude,  and  the  man's  mining  days  are  over." 
Lyle  shuddered. 

The  air  now  became  heavier,  and  in  its  dankness  was 
a  suggestion  of  decay.  "Beyond  that  brattice  ahead 
of  us,"  said  the  guide,  "is  a  robbed  mine — that  is,  most 
of  the  pillars  of  coal  have  been  taken  out.  There  will 
probably  be  no  danger  for  months  yet.  But  a  hundred 
and  thirty-five  men  were  killed  here  about  ten  months 
ago  by  an  explosion  of  fire-damp.  There  was  no  fire- 
damp indicator,  as  the  law  provides,  although  that  was 
never  allowed  to  become  known.  You  see,  the  trouble 
is  poor  inspection,  caused  by  corrupt  politics — I  have 
your  word  as  a  gentleman,  sir,  that  you  won't  say  I 
said  this?  Miners  that  have  worked  in  Europe,  and 
especially  in  Belgium  and  France,  tell  me  that  the  men 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  199 

can't  be  robbed  there  by  the  company  stores  and  the 
company  doctors  as  they  are  here.  And  more  import- 
ant, when  a  mine  is  inspected  there  it  is  inspected,  and 
there  is  a  small  percentage  of  men  killed.  Do  you  know 
that  sometimes  as  many  as  three  thousand  men  perish 
in  a  year  in  the  mines  of  this  country  ?  In  the  last  ten 
years  more  than  seventeen  thousand  have  lost  their 
lives,  and  about  thirty-five  thousand  have  been  maimed 
or  crippled.  But  you  can  get  a  better  idea  of  how 
those  facts  reflect  upon  the  government  of  this  country 
by  comparison  with  other  countries." 

Here  the  guide  paused,  and  took  from  an  inner 
pocket  a  note  book  which  he  opened  and  held  up  so 
that  the  light  from  his  lamp  fell  upon  its  pages.  "I've 
got  the  figures  here,"  he  resumed,  and  then  he  read: 
"In  Prussia,  about  two  men  in  every  thousand  engaged 
in  mining  are  killed  each  year ;  in  Great  Britain,  the 
average  is  a  little  more  than  one ;  in  Belgium,  it  is  ex- 
actly one,  and  in  France,  less  than  one  in  a  thousand. 
In  the  United  States  more  than  three  men  in  a  thou- 
sand are  thus  sacrificed." 

"Are  things  becoming  worse  or  better  with  us?" 
asked  Lyle. 

"The  accidents  increase  almost  every  year.  And 
now  that  the  control  is  to  be  in  the  hands  of  Wall 
Street  men,  who  will  probably  never  take  any  interest 
in  the  mines  beyond  dividends,  I  look  for  still  worse 
conditions.  The  present  owners  care  little  enough. 
The  main  fault,  I  would  say,  lies  with  the  government. 
Officials  change  too  often,  and  those  that  are  in  office 
want  to  get  rich  before  they  have  to  get  out.  Some 
way.  too,  there's  no  respect  for  authority  here,  or  not 
near  so  much  as  in  England,  where  I  am  from,  sir. 
Shall  we  go  on  ?" 


200  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

"Yes,"  said  Lyle. 

They  walked  past  the  brattice,  and  down  a  long 
slope  monotonously  bare,  damp  and  chilly.  Fitful 
drafts  of  heavy  air,  redolent  of  mould  and  decay, 
blew  upon  them  and  sucked  at  the  flames  of  their 
lamps.  Careless  miners,  unprovided  with  matches, 
sometimes  had  their  lights  extinguished  by  these  drafts, 
and  met  death  horribly,  after  groping  blindly  for  days 
in  abandoned  mines. 

They  passed  under  rotting  beams  covered  with 
mildew  or  fungus,  and  further  on  they  saw  stalactites 
of  salt  hanging  from  a  roof  of  rock.  When  they  had 
reached  the  lowest  level,  of  fifteen  hundred  feet,  they 
came  upon  a  heap  of  crumbling  ties  and  wornout  rails, 
half  buried  in  the  shale  and  silt.  And  in  a  great  cav- 
ern, to  one  side,  their  lurid  lights  showed  masses  of 
iron  lying  promiscuously  about  among  piles  of  toppled 
brickwork.  There  were  immense  boilers,  and  pipes, 
and  wheels,  and  other  parts  of  abandoned  machinery, 
slime  coated  and  red  with  rust,  a  lamentable  wreck  of 
power  lying  dead  and  forgotten  in  the  tomb  it  had 
made  for  itself.  It  was  like  the  last  circle  of  Hell,  and 
it  required  no  great  imagination  to  people  it  with 
specters  wailing  over  their  wasted  lives  and  vanished 
hopes  among  this  wreckage  of  material  things. 

"Shall  we  return  to  the  surface,  or  shall  I  explain 
the  use  of  this  machinery?"  asked  the  guide. 

"Let  us  return,  please,"  said  Lyle. 

END  OF  BOOK  THIRD 


BOOK   FOURTH 
THE  GREAT  BOND  CONSPIRACY 


CHAPTER  I 

LYLE    AND    MERCEDES    MEET 

A  letter  from  Gordon  Lyle  to  Mercedes  Durkin : 

"October  15th,  1894. 

"My  Beautiful  Lady  of  Mystery:  At  last  I  have 
learned  the  identity  of  the  one  to  whom  I  owe  so  much, 
and  I  venture  to  address  to  you  these  words  of  thanks. 
Of  course  I  shall  hold  as  sacredly  confidential  all  the  in- 
formation you  have  given  me.  (The  latest,  about  the 
approaching  bond  conspiracy,  is  the  most  promising  of 
all).  I  shall  not  even  write  you  again,  if  that  should  be 
your  wish.  But  you  who  have  been  my  good  angel, 
shedding  your  radiance  into  the  dark  pit  where  I  struggle, 
and  thus  helping  me  to  achieve — surely  you  will  not  deny 
me  the  privilege  of  expressing  my  gratitude! 

"You  can  forgive  me,  can  you  not,  for  discovering  you? 
In  newspaper  work  one  learns  to  make  deductions  in 
unraveling  mysteries  as  detectives  do.  Your  last  note 
was  on  mourning  paper.  I  knew  that  for  scarce  a  year 
now  you  have  been  a  widow.  The  note  was  mailed  at  a 
branch  postofhce  on  Murray  Hill,  near  your  home.  And  in 
the  lobby  of  the  opera  house,  where  our  eyes  met  for  an 
instant  after  the  sacred  concert  two  Sundays  ago,  you 
smiled  at  me.  That  smile,  the  third  you  have  ever  given 
me  (the  second  was  at  the  Horse  Show — you  see  I  have  a 
good  memory)  told  me  more  than  aught  else.  It  was  the 
sweetest  smile  of  all.     It  was  soul  speaking  to  soul. 

"And  so  it  is  you,  fair  altruist,  to  whom  the  whole  nation 
owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  having  been  informed  of 
many  things  of  vital  import.  And  while  the  growth  of 
the  sinister  new  Power  in  our  land  has  not  been  effectu- 

201 


202  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

ally  checked  thereby,  its  progress  has  been  much  re- 
tarded. And  I,  the  penniless  reporter  of  four  years  ago, 
am  personally  in  your  debt  more  than  I  can  ever  repay. 
By  your  aid  I  have,  as  it  were,  been  given  wings  that 
enabled  me  to  rise  from  an  abyss  of  failure  and  despair, 
and  fly  over  many  obstacles  that  would  surely  else  have 
overwhelmed  me.  When,  for  instance,  my  articles  were 
too  radical  for  the  Star,  and  I  had  them  printed  elsewhere, 
I  was  not  discharged  as  I  had  been  for  such  conduct  in 
the  past  on  other  papers.  Instead,  I  was  kept  on  the  staff 
because  I  possessed  an  invaluable  source  of  information. 
Through  you  I  had  already  become  one  of  the  highest 
salaried  news  writers  in  New  York  when  Fortune  smiled 
again,  and  I  was  engaged  by  the  Circle,  the  new  and  ultra- 
radical and  entirely  unfettered  daily,  at  five  thousand  a 
year.  The  best  feature  of  it  all  is  that  I  continue  to  write 
just  the  things  I  want  to  write,  for  the  owner  is  not  only  a 
champion  of  popular  rights,  but  a  multi-millionaire  as 
well,  which  makes  him  independent  of  the  usual  influences 
employed  against  reform  papers. 

"But  more  of  this,  I  fear,  would  bore  you.  Please 
pardon,  if  he  has  offended  by  writing  even  this  much,  one 
who  would  serve  you  in  any  way.  "Yours  sincerely, 

"Gordon  Lyle." 

From  Mercedes  Durkin  to  Gordon  Lyle : 


"My  Dear  Mr.  Lyle:  Your  letter  of  yesterday  came  to 
hand  this  morning,  and  I  hasten  to  express  my  apprecia- 
tion. It  is  true  that  I  have  long  been  interested  in  your 
work.  You.  of  course,  have  destroyed  all  communications 
from  me?  I  hope  you  will  always  do  so.  The  informa- 
tion which  you  mention  is  obtained  through  a  woman  to 
whom  the  gentleman  is  fond  of  boasting.  As  to  the  effect 
of  the  news  upon  the  public  I  know  nothing,  but  I  am 
glad  to  have  been  of  service  to  you. 

"I  am  less  happily  situated  than  you  may  think,  for  all 
the  comforts  that  surround  me.  Although  I  have  been  a 
widow  for  less  than  a  year,  I  have  long  lived  alone  and 
lonely,  unloving  and  unloved. 

"I  wish  to  know  of  your  continued  success.  Your  letter 
was  not  too  long — it  was  not  long  enough. 

"From  your 
"  'Lady  of  Mystery.'  " 

From  Gordon  Lyle  to  Mercedes  Durkin,  after  the 
exchange  of  several  more  letters : 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  203 

"My  Beautiful  Lady  of  Mystery:  Of  love  I  have  no 
right  to  speak,  and  yet  I  cannot  keep  silent.  I  would  have 
loved  you  had  you  never  aided  me  in  the  least.  I  have 
loved  you  from  that  moment  years  ago  when  I  glimpsed 
your  beautiful  face  smiling  upon  me — upon  me.  as  I  sat 
among  the  outcasts  in  a  public  park.  Like  a  star  you 
gleamed  before  my  vision  for  an  instant,  and  then  you 
vanished,  and  it  seemed  that  eternal  night  had  begun. 
Frantically  I  searched  for  you  in  that  labyrinth  which  wc 
call  a  city's  streets,  but  I  searched  in  vain.  And  even 
when  I  did  see  you  again,  at  the  dinner  of  the  Moonlight 
Club,  it  seemed  that  the  fiends  of  the  lower  regions  had 
brought  me  within  sight  of  you  only  to  mock  me,  for  that 
night  I  learned  that  you  were  the  wife  of  another. 

"And  yet,  like  a  stooping  goddess,  you  continued  to  reach 
down  from  your  eminence,  and  I  was  raised  to  such 
success  as  seldom  comes  to  one  of  my  peculiar  craft. 
And  all  this  time  you  were  concealed  behind  the  veil  of 
anonymity  and,  Isis-like,  withheld,  as  you  still  withhold, 
the  reason  for  your  great  goodness.  You  say  I  must  not 
see  you.  Good  and  beautiful  one,  I  know  I  am  unworthy, 
but  that  I  have  received  so  much  emboldens  me  to  hope 
for  more.  Yours  always, 

"Gordon  Lyle." 

From  her  next  letter : 


"How  well  you  write,  and  how  I  like  to  read  your  letters! 
I  should  say  you  were  wasting  your  talent,  if  not  your 
time,  in  journalism.  *****  And  so  you  think  me 
good  as  well  as  beautiful?  But  suppose  I  were  not  good? 
I  fear  that  I  am  not." 

From  his  next  letter  : 


"If  you  are  not  good,  then  for  me  there  is  no  goodness. 
Rather,  goodness  must  conform  to  you  to  prove  itself,  or 
else  in  my  eyes  it  were  evil." 

From  her  next  letter : 


"I  feel  strangely  drawn  toward  you.  *****  There 
are  some  things  which  I  feel  you  should  know  before  you 
allow  yourself  to  believe  that  you  love  me.  My  marriage 
was  entirely  a  mercenary  one.  Nothing  in  my  life  is  so 
regrettable  as   that   marriage,   despite   all   the   sanction   of 


204  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

religion  which  it  received,  and  yet  I  deliberately  entered 
into  it  I  wish  to  atone  for  that  and  for  other  faults  by 
aiding  humanity  in  some  way.  Your  idealism  appeals  to 
me.  Perhaps  I  am  undeserving  of  any  of  your  good 
opinions.  I  may  be  even  less  good  than  I  am  willing  to 
confess." 

From  his  next  letter : 

"I  can  only  repeat  that  'If  you  are  not  good,  then  for 
me  there  is  no  goodness.'  May  we  not  meet,  at  least 
once?" 

From  her  next  letter : 

"I  will  see  you  for  a  few  moments  in  Central  Park 
Tuesday  afternoon  at  five  o'clock.  Look  for  a  victoria  on 
the  driveway  south  of  the  reservoir.  When  it  stops,  walk 
up  and  greet  me  as  though  we  were  old  friends,  and  speak 
of  Mr.  Durkin's  property  in  Philadelphia.  We  will  let  the 
coachman  think  you  a  lawyer  from  that  city.  ***** 
Your  last  letter  was  beautiful." 

From  his  next  letter,  after  the  meeting : 

"I  am  off  to  Washington  to-morrow  to  watch  the  bond 
deal,  and  I  write  you  now  because  I  shall  have  so  little 
time  there.  *****  I  am  more  enchanted  than  ever 
since  that  delightful  drive  about  the  park.  I  love  your 
soft  Southern  vowels,  and  your  simple  way  of  dressing 
your  hair.  I  love,  too,  your  pretty  hands,  which  to  look  at 
are  like  cool  ivory,  and  to  the  touch  are  like  velvet.  But 
more  than  all  do  your  eyes  fascinate  me.  What  did  we 
talk  about?  I  cannot  remember,  but  your  eyes  I  can 
never  forget.  *****  Were  I  a  sculptor  I  would 
chisel  you  in  marble,  were  1  a  painter  I  would  image  you 
on  canvas,  were  1  a  poet  I  would  write  you  madrigals  in 
words  of  fiery  beauty.  But  even  were  I  all  of  these 
combined  I  could  impart  to  others  but  a  faint  conception 
of  your  loveliness." 

From  her  next  letter : 

"You  have  the  soul  of  an  artist,  and  you  are  a  poet 
though  you  may  never  write  a  line  of  verse.  ***** 
Your  stories  about  the  bond  deal  make  me  proud  of  you. 
I  feel  that  after  all  I  am  somewhat  worthy  of  the  Southern 
cavalier  who  was  my  father  if  I  have  aided  you  to  do  the 
big  things  you  are  doing.    *****!  admit  that  it  is 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  205 

sweet  to  be  loved  by  you.     And  I  am  really  your  ideal? 
How  beautiful  to  think  of  that!" 


CHAPTER  II 

DELAVAL    EXPLAINS    THE    BOND   DEAL 

"See,  Lyle,  there  they  go ! — those  young  men  and 
boys,  there,  almost  touching  the  statue  of  Washington 
as  they  enter  the  Sub-Treasury." 

"What  have  they  in  those  packages,  Delaval?" 

"Bank  notes  and  treasury  notes  called  greenbacks, 
which  they  will  exchange  for  gold.  They  form  part 
of  the  endless  chain  that  has  been  draining  the  nation's 
treasury  for  more  than  a  year.  And  yet  the  people 
didn't  wake  up  to  it  till  your  stories  in  the  Circle  ex- 
posed the  facts.  Even  now,  the  majority — oh,  that  ig- 
norant, that  terrible,  that  monstrous  thing  called  the 
majority — realize  nothing  of  what  all  this  means." 

Arthur  Delaval  was  a  cynic.  Every  newspaper 
office,  as  Lyle  had  long  since  learned,  was  a  school  of 
cynicism,  but  most  of  the  matriculates  were  as  shallow 
as  they  were  insincere.  Delaval,  however,  was  an  ex- 
ceptional journalist.  He  was  a  graduate  both  in  law 
and  in  medicine,  and  had  finished  the  broadest  educa- 
tion obtainable  in  America  by  studies  at  the  University 
of  Vienna,  where  he  took  two  four-year  courses  in 
three  years.  Returning  home,  he  had  practised  law 
three  months  and  medicine  six,  and  then  abandoned 
both  to  write  for  newspapers.  "After  all,  the  most  in- 
teresting study  is  human  life,"  he  concluded.  His 
specialty  was  dramatic  criticism. 

Once,    when    asked    why    he   preferred    newspaper 


206  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

work,  he  replied,  "The  trade  fits  me  so  well.  Bis- 
marck, you  know,  defined  a  journalist  as  one  who  has 
failed  in  his  profession.  I  should  therefore  be  doubly 
competent."  On  another  occasion,  at  the  Press  Club, 
when  a  bibulous  editorial  writer  declared  pessimis- 
tically, "We  are  all  literary  prostitutes,"  he  rejoined, 
"You  are  wrong — we  are  not  literary." 

He  was  noted  for  his  ability  to  write  upon  a  larger 
variety  of  subjects,  and  to  keep  on  his  feet  after  drink- 
ing a  larger  variety  of  liquors  than  any  other  member 
of  the  craft. 

Lyle  had  admired  him  ever  since  the  night  of  the 
Moonlight  Club  dinner  when  he  had  punctured  the 
pretensions  of  a  group  of  bohemian  critics  of  Shake- 
speare with  the  single  phrase,  in  response  to  a  request 
for  his  opinion,  "I  think  it  best  for  both  Shakespeare 
and  myself  to  remain  silent  this  evening."  That  was 
characteristic  of  Arthur  Delaval :  his  sententious, 
rapid-firing  wit.  But  Lyle  admired  him  also  for  his 
wide  and  deep  knowledge.  His  very  name  of  Arthur 
had  been  chosen  by  his  parents  because  it  was  spelled 
the  same  in  English,  French  and  German.  And  that 
fact  was  indicative  of  the  son's  breadth  of  view.  Both 
his  parents  were  dead  now,  and  he  and  Lyle,  being 
orphans,  as  well  as  having  many  congenial  tastes,  felt 
drawn  toward  each  other  by  unusually  strong  ties. 

Lyle  was  glad  whenever  his  work  brought  him  and 
Delaval  together.  Upon  returning  from  Washington, 
where  he  learned  that  there  had  been  a  secret  midnight 
conference  about  the  bond  issue  between  Gorman  and 
the  President,  he  was  told  to  discover  what  he  could 
in  Wall  Street.  And  there  he  met  Delaval  on  the  same 
errand  for  his  paper,  the  Evening  Hope.  Though  sel- 
dom assigned  to  do  reportorial  work,  Delaval's  knowl- 


THE  AMERICAN   EMPEROR  207 

edge  had  caused  him  to  be  pressed  into  service  for  this 
task.  He  had  already  taken  half  a  dozen  drinks  when 
Lyle  saw  him.  "To  drown  my  sense  of  shame,"  he 
said,  pulling  dejectedly  at  his  brown  mustache,  and 
looking  moodily  at  the  line  of  hurrying  bank  messen- 
gers across  the  street. 

"Why  a  sense  of  shame?"  asked  Lyle. 

"Why  ?  Because  I've  got  to  write  of  these  doings  in 
a  way  to  please  Gorman  himself — Gorman,  who  drove 
my  father  from  public  life  and  into  his  grave.  'Decent 
people  don't  write  for  me,'  was  one  of  Bismarck's  say- 
ings. Gorman  may  echo  that  now.  I'm  not  decent, 
and  I  know  it,  but  what  can  I  do  ?  I  must  live,  and  I'm 
not  fitted  for  any  other  kind  of  work.  Perhaps  I'll 
write  a  drama  some  time,  and  even  up  with  Gorman  in 
that  way. 

"But  come  into  this  cafe,"  he  added,  turning  toward 
an  establishment  a  few  doors  from  where  they  stood. 
"From  the  front  window  of  that  we  can  watch  opera- 
tions, and  while  we  imbibe  something  we  can  be  ex- 
changing facts.  I've  been  talking  with  a  banker  who 
wasn't  allowed  in  on  this  big  deal,  and  the  things  he 
told  me  can  better  be  used  by  you,  since  I've  got  to 
show  the  other  side." 

As  thev  were  being  seated  at  a  table  Lyle  remarked, 
"I've  noticed  that  the  respectable  papers  like  the  Hope 
and  the  Luminary  are  defending  this  deal." 

"You  mean  respected,  not  respectable  papers,"  re- 
joined Delaval,  ordering  absinthe  for  himself  and 
coffee  for  Lyle.  "I've  often  suspected  that  the  Hope 
was  under  Gorman's  thumb,  and  now  I  know  it.  He 
holds  its  mortgage  bonds  for  half  a  million,  and  has 
passed  around  railway  stock  to  the  nominal  owners  of 
the  paper,  and  he  has  done  the  same  thins  with  other 


208  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

sheets.  Of  course,  he  has  owned  the  Luminary  for  a 
long  time,  as  we  all  know.  Oh,  he'll  get  the  Star,  and 
even  the  Circle  in  time,  or  if  he  doesn't  some  of  his 
allies  probably  will.  These  reform  papers  look  to  me 
like  hungry  hounds  howling  for  their  share." 

"Not  the  Circle,  surely,"  protested  Lyle.  "Ransom 
is  too  rich  already,  even  if  he  were  not  too  honest." 

"My  dear  Lyle,  nobody  in  American  journalism — 
among  the  proprietors,  I  mean — is  too  rich  to  be  dis- 
honest, or  too  honest  to  be  rich.  And  Ransom  is  said 
to  have  political  ambitions.  If  these  wealthy  traders 
and  manipulators  can't  get  him  in  any  other  way, 
they'll  bring  him  to  time  if  he  ever  runs  for  office.  But 
what  impresses  me  most  about  this  deal  is  its  boldness 
— the  Napoleonic  strategy  of  it." 

"How  Napoleonic?" 

"Why,  Gorman  has  captured  the  center  of  things  at 
the  start,  and  that  was  the  Corsican's  way,  always. 
Next  to  the  White  House  and  the  Senate  leaders  comes 
journalism  in  importance.  The  railway  and  banking 
clique  spent  three  to  five  millions  to  put  this  adminis- 
tration in  office,  and  now  they're  collecting  usurious 
interest,  multiplied  several  times,  upon  the  investment. 
Well,  Gorman,  as  the  leader  of  this  clique,  owns  the 
President,  and  the  Senate  leaders  were  already  in  the 
control  of  himself  and  his  allies.  As  to  journalism : 
the  Luminary  and  the  Evening  Hope  and  the  Trumpet 
are  the  oldest  and  most  respected  journals  in  the 
metropolis.  They  have  age,  tradition,  prestige  back 
of  them.  What  they  say  influences  the  so-called  'better 
element'  throughout  the  country.  And  what  are  known 
as  the  'conservative'  dailies  in  all  the  other  large  cities, 
which  also,  without  exception,  are  more  or  less  under 
the  control  of  the  railway  and  banking  interests,  echo 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  209 

what  these  papers  say.  It  reminds  me  of  how  Napo- 
leon entrenched  his  power  by  the  marriages  he  brought 
about  for  his  relatives  and  his  generals  with  the  old 
families  of  France.  In  that  way  he  obtained  the  sup- 
port of  tradition  and  prestige  for  his  throne." 

"How  strangely  you  argue,  and  yet  you  more  than 
half  convince  me.  But  I  can't  use  these  theories  in  a 
news  article.  Explain  this  endless  chain  that's  drain- 
ing the  treasury.  I  have  all  the  rest  of  the  matter 
clearly  outlined  in  my  mind." 

"It  is  this  way,"  said  Delaval,  ordering  another 
drink.  "About  three  hundred  million  dollars'  worth  of 
greenbacks  were  in  circulation  when  this  most  popular 
President  took  office.  You  remember  how  the  people 
went  half-mad  with  joy  over  his  election?  They 
lighted  bonfires,  and  in  many  cities  sedate  and  intelli- 
gent men  threw  their  hats  in  the  air  and,  forming  in 
long  lines  and  holding  hands,  they  'cracked  the  whip' 
like  schoolboys.  And  now  panic  grips  the  land,  and 
gaunt  hunger  stalks  abroad,  while  many  of  the  legions 
who  paraded  in  flambeau  clubs  have  joined  the  ragged 
armies  which  are  marching  toward  the  capital  to  ask 
for  bread.    But  to  continue : 

"These  many  millions  of  paper  money  were  all,  ac- 
cording to  law,  'redeemable  in  coin,'  which,  by  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury,  appointed  for  that  purpose,  was 
construed  to  mean  gold,  if  gold  were  demanded.  A 
little  while  before,  a  silver-purchasing  law,  that  kept 
silver  on  a  parity  with  gold,  was  repealed,  and  its  re- 
peal paved  the  way  for  what  followed.  It  happens  that 
none  other  than  Gorman's  chief  legal  counselor,  one 
Elijah  Bronson,  as  you  know,  is  now  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.     He  was  our  present  amiable   President's 


210  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

law  partner  not  many  years  ago.     You  see  the  con- 
nection ? 

"The  trouble  with  a  country  like  this,  whose  people 
think  they  rule  themselves,  is  that  so  many  evils  can't 
be  voted  upon  at  all,  even  when  they  are  understood. 
Take  the  average  man  in  the  street,  and  he  knows  no 
more  of  finance  than  a  cat  knows  of  astronomy.  The 
people  voted  against  a  robber  tariff  which  had  been 
afflicting  them  for  a  generation,  and  when  the  reform 
Congress  went  into  office,  it  was  bought  by  the  trusts, 
and  so  the  people  didn't  get  what  they  voted  for.  But 
they  got  this  treasury  loot,  which  they  never  dreamed 
of  getting. 

"Well,  the  treasury's  policy  was  to  hold  at  least  a 
hundred  million  dollars'  worth  of  gold  in  reserve  for 
special  emergencies.  There  was  no  law  about  this — it 
was  just  a  policy.  Now,  a  rich  and  powerful  govern- 
ment can  be  independent  of  such  a  policy  when  it 
wants  to,  since  law,  not  metal,  is  money,  but  Gorman's 
cabinet  simply  didn't  want  to  be  independent,  not  hav- 
ing been  elected  for  that  purpose.  However,  let's 
have  another  drink." 

After  quaffing  a  brandy  and  soda,  Delaval  looked 
more  cheerful  for  a  time,  but  as  he  went  on  with  the 
gloomy  details  of  his  explanation  he  relapsed  into 
melancholy.  "It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  say,  Lyle,"  and 
he  paused  and  looked  straight  at  his  friend,  "but  the 
treasury  has  been  deliberately  opened  to  the  vultures  of 
finance — and  there  goes  the  greatest  vulture  of  them 
all."  Gorman's  carriage  was  just  then  passing  on  the 
way  to  his  office  two  blocks  distant.  It  was  followed 
by  the  admiring  glances  of  hundreds. 

"But  to  resume,"  said  DelavaL  "You  and  I  are 
fairly  intelligent  persons,  and  I  think  it  no  exaggera- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  211 

tion  to  say  that  we  are  far  above  the  ordinary  when 
it  comes  to  understanding  public  questions,  and  yet 
this  one  question  of  finance  alone  is  difficult  for  us  to 
grasp  in  any  of  its  larger  phases.  When  the  financiers 
are  our  real  rulers,  then,  what  can  the  majority  hope 
for,  or  what  can  we  hope  from  the  majority?  As  I 
said,  the  banking  clique  for  a  year  has  been  exchang- 
ing its  paper  money  for  gold,  and  twice  the  treasury 
reserve  has  gone  below  the  danger  mark,  and  two  bond 
issues  of  fifty  millions  each  to  get  this  gold  back  in  the 
treasury  have  resulted.  Now,  in  past  years,  an  average 
of  less  than  three  millions  a  year  have  been  exchanged 
for  gold  at  the  treasury,  so  you  see  how  actively  this 
endless  chain  of  messengers  has  been  operated. 

"The  new  bonds  sold  readily,  though  the  interest  was 
less  than  cither  France  or  Great  Britain  was  paying  for 
securities.  All  the  big  bankers  shared  equally  in  the 
commissions,  and  there  was  no  secrecy.  A  few 
millions  could  have  been  saved  the  people,  however, 
if  the  bonds  had  been  sold  directly  by  the  government 
to  the  trustees  of  widows  and  orphans'  estates,  who 
eagerly  bought  them — but  what  do  we  have  bankers 
for?  Well,  after  the  second  sale,  the  endless  chain 
worked  more  quickly.  In  one  month  the  raiders 
seized  thirty-one  millions.  Then  next,  they  took  oat 
forty-five.  And  then,  for  the  third  time,  came  the  cry 
from  Washington  that  the  gold  reserve  was  depleted. 

"This  was  the  time  for  Gorman's  master  move. 
Leaving  the  other  raiders  happily  gathering  in  their 
ordinary  profits,  he  got  aboard  his  private  car  and 
went  to  consult  with  his  President  and  his  Seretary  of 
the  Treasury.  You  know  the  rest.  As  you  said  in  your 
dispatch,  a  four-hour  conference  was  held,  lasting  till 
after  midnight.     And  then  it  was  announced  that  the 


212  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

Gorman  syndicate  had  been  given  the  contract  to  fur- 
nish sixty-two  millions  in  gold  to  the  government.  For 
to-morrow's  paper  you  will  want  to  explain  just  what 
the  terms  of  this  contract  mean,  and  I  will  tell  you. 

"Those  sixty-two  million  dollars'  worth  of  thirty- 
year,  four  per  cent,  bonds  were  sold  to  Gorman  at  one 
hundred  and  four  and  one-half.  And  only  yesterday, 
government  bonds,  to  be  cancelled  twelve  years  later, 
were  selling  on  public  exchanges  at  a  hundred  and 
ten  and  a  half,  equal  to  a  two  and  fifteen-sixteenths 
per  cent,  basis.  Thus,  by  the  stock  market's  infallible 
test,  the  bonds  that  Gorman  got  were  worth  a  hundred 
and  nineteen  and  a  half  to  twenty,  in  the  dry  phrase- 
ology of  finance.  And  think,  Lyle,  one  of  the  statements 
I  have  got  to  embody  in  my  account  for  the  Evening 
Hope — oh,  the  prostitution  of  it ! — is  this  :  'Hearing 
that  the  treasury's  gold  reserve  was  again  in  danger,  a 
number  of  patriotic  bankers  clubbed  together,  and 
placed  their  gold  at  the  disposal  of  the  government.' 
Ah,  but  111  even  up  the  score  with  that  monster  some 
day!  Meanwhile,  another  drink.  Waiter,  bring  a 
vermouth  frappe." 

Hardly  had  this  been  disposed  of  when  sounds  of 
disturbance  came  from  the  street.  There  was  a  con- 
gestion of  traffic  in  front  of  the  cafe,  and  many  men 
were  seen  gesticulating  and  pointing  in  one  direction, 
whence  shouts  were  heard.  Lyle  and  Delaval  hurried 
out. 

"There's  a  crowd  around  Gorman's  office,"  said 
Delaval,  and  when  they  had  approached  within  dis- 
tance of  the  open  doorway,  he  added,  "Those  men 
are  brokers,  and  they  are  pleading  for  a  chance  to  buy 
those  bonds  at  a  hundred  and  eighteen.  They're  strug- 
gling like  football  players.     Hear  the  cries  of  treach- 


THE  AMERICAN   EMPEROR  213 

ery !  Ah,  he's  quieting  some  of  them  by  saying  he  will 
form  a  second  syndicate,  and  sell  them  at  a  hundred 
and  nineteen.  That  must  mean  that  they  will  eventu- 
ally be  sold  several  points  higher." 

"But  tell  me  this,"  said  Lyle,  who  hung  upon 
Delaval's  words  like  a  child  seeking  a  wise  father's 
advice,  feeling  that  there  was  no  question  he  could  not 
answer,  "how  does  Gorman's  profit  on  this  compare 
with  the  profits  of  bankers  on  former  bond  issues?" 

"In  the  four  years  of  the  Civil  War,"  replied  Delaval, 
while  he  watched  the  antics  of  the  brokers,  "two  and 
three-quarter  billions  were  borrowed  by  the  nation 
when  it  was  smaller,  poorer,  weaker  by  half  than  it  is 
now — a  nation  fighting  for  its  life,  and  often  in  danger 
of  extinction,  and  yet  the  total  of  bankers'  commissions 
for  all  that  money  was  less  than  Gorman  and  his  allies 
will  make  on  this  single  loan  of  sixty-two  millions." 

"And  their  profit  will  be?" 

"The  inner  ring,  headed  by  Gorman,  will  make 
eight  and  a  half  millions.  And  the  second  ring  will 
make  two  or  three  more  millions." 

"My  God,  what  a  loot!" 

"To  express  the  thing  another  way,"  Delaval  con- 
tinued, "I  will  say  that  history  might  be  searched  in 
vain  for  an  instance  of  where  a  government  was  robbed 
of  an  equal  amount  in  so  short  a  period  by  its  own 
citizens,  in  time  either  of  peace  or  war." 

"And  he's  planning  another  bond  deal  on  the  same 
terms — one  for  two  hundred  millions  this  time.  It  is 
frightful.  I  feel  that  I  must  dip  my  pen  in  vitriol  or  in 
blood  to  write  of  it." 

"Yes ;  but  meanwhile  let  us  have  a  drink  of  good  red 
wine,"  said  Delaval  as  they  turned  and  walked  away. 


214  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

CHAPTER    III 

A   DISCOURSE   ON    REPUBLICS 

"Have  you  heard,"  asked  Delaval,  looking  up 
boozily,  but  with  the  smoldering  fire  of  his  quick  intel- 
ligence flashing  in  his  melancholy  eyes,  "that  beautiful 
poem  entitled  'New  York'  that  is  now  going  the 
rounds?  The  style  is  hardly  classic,  but  the  sentiment 
meets  with  my  entire  approval." 

Lyle  and  Holmes  said  they  had  not  heard  it,  and 
Delaval  after  sipping  his  fifth  drink,  a  gin  rickey, 
recited : 

*"Vulgar  of  manner,  overfed, 
Overdressed  and  underbred. 
Heartless,  Godless,  Hell's  delight, 
Rude  by  day  and  lewd  by  night; 
Dwarfed  the  man,  enlarged  the  brute, 
Ruled  by  Jew  and  prostitute; 
Purple  robed  and  pauper  clad, 
Raving,  noting,  money  mad; 
Millions  with  a  single  goal — 
Mammon's  herd,  without  a  soul; 
Crazed  by  avarice,  lust  and  rum, 
New  York:  thy  name's  Delirium!"* 

"Great!"  said  Holmes.  "We'll  have  another  round 
of  drinks  on  that.  But  there's  a  point  or  two  of  fact 
in  which  the  verses  are  off.  The  Irish  rule  the  politics, 
the  Jews  the  business  of  this  town,  while  over  all  is 
the  stock  market  crowd.  Also,  few  of  us  are  overfed 
nowadays.  Why,  a  prominent  actor  fell  fainting  on 
Broadway  yesterday,  and  it  was  learned  that  he  had 
eaten  nothing  for  three  days.  And  in  the  poor  quar- 
ters people  are  actually  starving." 

"You're    right    about    the    politics,"    said    Delaval. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  215 

"New  York  is  Canaan  to  the  Irish.  And  yet,  no  matter 
how  honeycombed  with  corruption  the  town  is,  no  one 
must  ever  say  that  it  reflects  on  the  race.  But  I'm 
not  sorry  for  the  actors  as  a  body,"  he  went  on.  "As 
entertainers  they  must  always  look  to  pleasing  people 
of  means,  and  that  forms  a  habit  of  mind  which  comes 
pretty  near  to  making  all  of  them  toadies.  In  every 
great  revolution  the  jesters,  the  clowns,  and  the  player 
folk  generally  have  been  on  the  side  of  the  ruling 
classes.      Take    the    rebellion    against    the    Stuarts, 

now "  and  he  launched  into  a  diatribe  against  the 

people  of  the  mimic  world. 

It  was  a  night  in  January  of  1896,  and  the  three 
friends  were  in  a  Park  Row  cafe  frequented  by  news- 
paper men.  The  hour  was  midnight,  the  supper  time 
of  the  workers  on  morning  papers.  Delaval,  though 
on  an  evening  journal,  kept  "morning  paper  hours" 
because  of  his  duties  as  a  dramatic  critic. 

"But  to  get  back  to  New  York  and  America,"  said 
Delaval  after  disposing  of  his  next  drink,  a  Scotch 
highball.  "Since  the  city  and  the  country  are  what 
they  are,  why  worry  about  it,  Lyle?  I  agree  with 
Walpole,  who  said,  'I  could  love  my  country  better  if 
it  were  not  for  my  countrymen.'  Any  individual, 
however  strong,  who  honestly  seeks  to  breast  the  flood 
tide  of  corruption  in  this  country  is  doomed  to  failure, 
soon  or  late." 

"That's  what  I  say,  Lyle,"  Holmes  put  in.  "The 
tiling  to  do  is  to  get  your  share — that  is,"  he  added, 
seeing  Lyle's  lips  draw  together  and  a  dangerous  light 
come  into  his  eyes,  "I  mean  honest  graft.  There's 
plenty  of  the  honest  kind,  such  as  tips  on  the  stock 
market,  you  know." 

Holmes  had  now  been  for  three  years  night  editor  of 


216  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

the  Trumpet,  and  he  had  become  typical  in  more  ways 
than  one  of  those  of  his  craft.  He  was  growing  heavy 
from  his  sedentary  life,  and  he  was  already  partly 
bald,  though  his  age  was  little  past  thirty.  He  wore 
spectacles,  through  which  his  red-rimmed  eyes  seemed 
about  to  pop — the  result  of  much  reading  under  arti- 
ficial lights  of  many  and  various  kinds  of  "copy."  His 
skin  had  the  yellowish  pallor  characteristic  of  night 
workers  who  take  no  exercise. 

"There  is  no  'honest  graft,'  "  replied  Lyle,  without 
looking  at  him. 

"You're  too  much  of  an  idealist  for  this  age,"  mut- 
tered Delaval. 

"I  don't  know  whether  or  not  I  should  be  called  an 
idealist,"  said  Lyle.  "But  I  believe  that  idealists  save 
the  world.  Man,  if  not  quite  a  beast,  is  still  largely 
bestial  after  eighteen  centuries  of  Christianity,  and  ten 
of  noble  paganism.  And  the  whole  human  race  might 
eventually  relapse  entirely  into  bestiality  were  it  not  for 
the  idealists,  who  by  their  deeds  as  well  as  by  inspired 
words  awaken  in  men  conscience  and  the  desire  for 
emulation.  These  idealists,  who  are  the  guiding  stars 
of  human  destiny,  are  moved  by  impulses  over  which 
they  have  no  control,  whose  very  source  they  them- 
selves may  but  vaguely  glimpse.  Art  and  religion, 
music  and  poetry — the  finest  things  in  the  world,  and 
the  only  things  that  lift  humanity  out  of  the  muck  and 
mire  of  animalism — all  these  spring  from  idealism. 
And  an  idealist,  to  be  true  to  himself,  must  by  his  own 
life  show  his  contempt  for  material  things.  He  must 
obey  only  those  impulses  which  an  inner  voice  tells 
him  are  from  a  higher  than  human  source,  a  source 
which  for  lack  of  a  better  name  we  will  call  divine." 

Delaval  had  started  to  lift  a  cocktail  to  his  lips,  but 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  217 

his  interest  in  Lyle's  words  was  such  that  the  hand 
holding  the  glass  remained  poised  in  the  air.  Secretly 
he  felt  an  admiration  for  his  young  friend  greater 
than  he  ever  expressed  in  words,  and  psychically 
he  leaned  upon  Lyle  as  much  as  Lyle,  in  matters  of 
mere  knowledge,  leaned  upon  him. 

"Well,    old   man,    you    have   done    things "    he 

began,  as  he  slowly  put  down  his  glass,  but  Lyle  inter- 
rupted to  say : 

"I'm  not  speaking  of  myself." 

"But  /  am.  You  stopped  that  second  bond  deal,  by 
which  more  than  twice  as  much  loot  would  have  been 
taken  from  the  national  treasury  as  the  raiders  got  the 
first  time,  and  a  popular  loan  was  brought  about  by  the 
Circle,  putting  an  end  to  that  particular  brand  of 
piracy.     And  you,  a  mere  reporter,  did  that." 

"With  Ransom's  paper  behind  me,"  added  Lyle 
modestly.  "You  see,  he  is  something  of  an  idealist, 
too " 

"Idealist  nothing,"  interjected  Delaval,  scoffingly. 
"He's  a  sordid  politician  who  wants  to  drag  down  the 
President.  I've  heard  from  those  who  worked  on  one 
of  his  Western  papers  that  he's  part  owner  of  the 
California  Southern  road,  and  that  he  got  his  shares 
by  holding  a  club  of  exposure  over  Burleson's  head. 
But  please  pardon  my  interruption." 

"I  was  going  to  say  that  I  didn't  start  things  myself, 
either,"  Lyle  resumed.  "Without  my  secret  source 
of  information  I  could  have  done  nothing." 

"Did  you  ever  find  out  who  that  mysterious  woman 
was  ?"  asked  Holmes. 

"She  is  still  a  mystery,"  said  Lyle,  and  he  began  to 
talk  of  another  subject.     This  was  only  a  half  truth, 


2i8  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROF 

but  he  would  have  been  willing  to  lie  like  a  gentleman 
if  necessary  to  shield  her.  And  his  heart  grew  warm 
as  he  thought  of  a  letter  he  had  received  only  that  day, 
and  had  speedily  destroyed,  because  the  news  in  it  was 
too  precious  to  keep  in  material  form. 

"Nevertheless,  idealism  never  had  a  more  terrible 
force  to  overcome  than  it  has  in  America  to-day," 
Delaval  remarked  after  a  time.  "That  bond  deal  was  a 
brutal  rape  of  the  fair  Republic,"  he  added  bitterly, 
"and  there  was  none  to  defend  her  until  too  late  to  save 
her  honor,  though  she  ivas  saved  from  further  pollu- 
tion. Why  could  such  a  thing  happen,  here,  though  it 
could  not  happen  in  any  European  monarchy,  except, 
perhaps,  Russia?  Because  there  is  not,  and  judging 
by  the  present  state  of  human  progress,  there  never  will 
be  enough  loyalty  among  any  people  to  republican 
ideals.  After  all,  what  is  the  idea  or  the  ideal  of  a 
republic?  It  is  a  beautiful  conception  in  the  minds  of 
a  few  thinkers,  but  to  the  masses,  who  will  never  really 
think,  it  is  a  vague  and  formless  thing,  exciting  neither 
love  nor  loyalty.  The  masses  require  a  human  per- 
sonality to  embody  their  ideals.  They  will  worship  a 
king.    They  will  never  worship  an  abstract  theory. 

"Democracy,  as  Plato  so  well  showed,  is  ever  suc- 
ceeded by  tyranny.  And  so  it  will  inevitably  be  with 
us.  So  it  is  even  now.  Already,  as  a  people,  we  are 
ruled  by  our  lowest  elements  rather  than  by  our  high- 
est, and  we  are  tyrannized  over  by  our  passions  more 
than  any  other  nation  in  the  world.  You  don't  believe 
that?"  as  his  auditors  looked  incredulous.  "I  am 
going  to  startle  you. 

"The  best  evidence  of  any  government's  stability  is 
the  protection  it  affords  to  human  life.     How  many 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  219 

murders  do  you  suppose  there  were  in  the  United 
States  last  year?  There  were  more  than  ten  thousand 
five  hundred.  That  is  a  greater  number  than  were 
killed  at  Gettysburg,  the  greatest  battle  of  the  Civil 
War.  It  is  an  average  of  twenty-seven  human  beings 
slain  from  sunrise  to  sunrise  the  year  'round.  The 
murders  increased  after  the  bond  deal  and  the  panic. 

"And  how  was  it  in  Europe,  with  its  respect  for  law 
and  order  bred  by  monarchical  governments?  Well, 
in  Italy,  with  her  vendettas  and  her  banditti,  traceable 
in  some  degree  to  her  climate,  there  were  only  three 
thousand  murders;  in  Spain,  there  were  but  half  that 
many ;  in  France,  there  were  eight  hundred ;  in  Aus- 
tria, seven  hundred ;  in  Germany,  six  hundred,  and  in 
Great  Britain,  which  alone  has  two-thirds  as  many 
inhabitants  as  our  glorious  country,  there  were  fewer 
than  five  hundred  murders. 

"On  an  average,  less  than  two  per  cent,  of  the  mur- 
derers in  this  country  are  convicted.  Half  of  the  mur- 
derers in  this  town  were  not  even  arrested.  You  know 
that  Buckle  in  his  'History  of  Civilization'  shows  that 
crime  and  other  disorders  prevail  in  proportion  to  a 
government's  efficiency,  or — but  this  is  getting  dry, 
isn't  it?    Another  drink,  waiter!" 

"What  would  you,  say  was  the  main  trouble  with  this 
country?  Can't  you  sum  it  up  in  some  epigram?" 
asked  Lyle. 

"Perhaps — after  another  drink,"  and  Delaval  sum- 
moned the  waiter  again.  As  they  all  set  down  their 
glasses  for  the  last  time,  he  said,  "I  would  put  it  this 
way:  There  is  too  much  respect  for  the  judiciary  and 
too  little  respect  for  law  in  America." 


220  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

CHAPTER    IV 

A  YACHTING  PARTY 

Majestically  she  rode  at  anchor  on  this  fair  April 
day  in  a  sheltered  part  of  the  harbor  known  as  "Mill- 
ionaires' Basin."  This  new  steam  yacht  of  Gorman's 
outshone  in  magnificence  as  she  excelled  in  speed  any 
pleasure  craft  in  American  waters. 

He  had  given  carte  blanche  to  the  builders,  and  soon 
after  his  bond  deal  was  completed  they  had  created 
for  him  this  imperial  toy.  The  yacht  was  as  large  as 
ocean  liners  had  been  a  generation  earlier.  Her  length 
was  more  than  three  hundred  feet,  her  width  was 
thirty-three.  Her  bare  steel  hull  would  have  been 
worth  a  fortune  as  fortunes  were  once  reckoned,  and 
her  fittings  and  furnishings  might  have  stood  for  the 
plunder  of  a  province  in  olden  days. 

The  main  saloon  was  done  in  the  style  of  Louis 
Quinze.  Its  walls  were  paneled  in  satinwood  from 
West  Indian  shores,  and  on  its  floor  were  velvet  car- 
pets of  harmonious  shades,  woven  without  seam. 
Statues  of  marble  and  bronze  and  pictures  by  old 
masters  added  to  the  beauty  of  the  room,  as  did  an 
ornate  fireplace,  fronted  by  brass  andirons,  on  the  tops 
of  which  were  heads  of  winking  Cupids. 

The  walls  of  all  the  staterooms  were  paneled  va- 
riously in  woods  beautiful  and  costly.  On  the  floors 
were  rugs  of  softest  texture,  brought  from  Bokhara. 
The  wardrobes  opened  by  the  pressing  of  a  button, 
and  were  lighted  by  electric  iamps,  enclosed  in  bulbs 
of  ground  glass.  The  bureau  drawers  were  on  ball 
bearings,  and  they  opened  soundlessly  at  a  mere  touch. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  221 

Attached  to  every  stateroom   were  private  baths  of 
marble  and  cabinets  for  maids  or  valets. 

The  Avails  of  Gorman's  room  were  done  in  Circassian 
walnut  and  inlaid  with  pearl.  On  one  side  the  apart- 
ment opened  on  a  Roman  bath,  done  in  Carrara  mar- 
ble. A  professional  masseur  always  accompanied  him 
on  long  sea  trips.  In  the  lower  regions  of  the  yacht  a 
Gallic  chef  presided. 

There  was  no  shooting  gallery  or  gymnasium,  as  on 
many  yachts  owned  by  the  idle  rich,  for  the  master 
cared  not  for  athletic  sports.  But  a  large  sun  parlor 
and  lounging  room  ran  the  entire  length  of  the  lower 
deck.  And  here  was  a  case  of  books  for  such  guests 
as  cared  to  read. 

The  body  of  the  yacht  was  done  in  hues  of  old  gold 
and  brown,  and  when  the  sunlight  struck  her  sides, 
and  played  upon  the  brass  rails  of  her  decks,  and  upon 
her  plate  glass  windows,  and  glinted  from  the  glass 
door  knobs  and  from  her  polished  decks,  she  shone 
resplendent.  And  she  cut  the  water  with  precision 
and  with  easy  grace,  for  her  crew  of  forty  men  were 
of  the  best  sea  talent  to  be  had. 

Lulled  by  the  lazy  lap  of  waves,  she  lay  in  the  harbor 
on  this  April  afternoon,  a  gentle  purr  of  steam  denot- 
ing that  her  engines  were  being  made  ready  for  a 
voyage.  Seamen  in  white  duck,  trimmed  with  pale 
blue  cording,  ran  about  the  deck  while  officers,  in  gold- 
braided  caps  and  dark  blue  coats  with  gilt  buttons,  and 
white  trousers  and  shoes,  stalked  about  giving  orders. 

Soon  a  naphtha  launch  puffed  alongside  and  from  it 
stepped  two  men  and  one  woman,  who  clambered  up 
the  narrow  stairway  that  was  let  down  to  receive  them. 
A  little  later  another  launch,  carrying  two  women  and 
two  men,  emptied  its  passengers  in  like  manner,  and 


222  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

went  puffing  away,  and  then  a  third  launch,  carrying  a 
solitary  woman  passenger,  delivered  her  to  the  yacht, 
and  returned  to  shore. 

After  this  there  were  a  few  sharp  staccato  com- 
mands, the  seamen  winched  the  anchor,  neatly  coiled 
the  lines,  and  the  yacht's  steel  nose  swung  slowly  to 
the  outgoing  tide.  A  jingle  of  bells,  a  snorting  rumble 
of  the  screw,  a  scream  of  the  siren  whistle,  and  she 
moved  faster  and  faster  toward  Sandy  Hook  and  the 
open  sea. 

The  passengers  were  soon  at  ease  in  their  new  sur- 
roundings, walking  about  the  holystoned  decks,  or 
viewing  the  spectacle  of  the  great  city  fading  in  the 
distance,  or  chatting  as  they  lolled  upon  the  couches 
in  the  sun  parlor.  But  when  clouds  sailed  athwart  the 
sun  and  a  storm  seemed  to  be  brewing  they  retired  to 
the  main  saloon. 

"You're  looking  so  well,  dear  Mrs.  Durkin,"  said 
Mrs.  Richard  Burton,  a  blonde  of  advanced  years. 
"Why  have  we  seen  so  little  of  you  in  the  past  several 
years  ?" 

"I've  been  spending  a  good  deal  of  my  time  in  the 
South  with  relatives,"  replied  Mercedes,  who  was 
indeed  looking  well.  "And  since  my  husband  died,  I 
don't  go  about  much.  I  have  been  trying  to  settle  up 
his  estate  with  Mr.  Gorman,  who,  as  you  may  know, 
is  one  of  the  trustees." 

"You  must  look  out  or  you'll  become  a  recluse  like 
Mrs.  Gorman.  They  say  she's  never  been  on  this  yacht 
once  since  it  was  put  in  commission  a  year  ago." 

The  Reverend  Dr.  Sapleigh  Squires  and  his  wife 
now  entered,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elijah  Bronson  soon 
followed.    The  women  held  rather  tightly  to  their  hus- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  223 

bands  as  the  boat  was  being  assailed  by  heavy  starboard 
winds,  which  caused  her  to  roll  badly  at  times. 

"What  the  world  loses  the  church  gains,"  said  the 
reverend  gentleman,  who  had  heard  the  last  part  of  the 
dialogue,  as  he  piloted  his  wife  to  a  sofa.  "Mrs.  Gor- 
man's interest  in  our  parish  cannot  be  estimated  in 
dollars.     She  is  a  true  worker  in  the  cause." 

As  he  spoke  he  was  looking  over  the  heads  of  the 
ladies  facing  him,  into  a  gold  framed  mirror  that 
reflected  a  painting  of  a  feminine  figure  by 
Bouguereau. 

"Did  not  Mrs.  Gorman  ask  her  husband  to  give  that 
hundred  thousand  dollars  toward  a  new  Episcopal 
cathedral,  Dr.  Squires?"  asked  Mrs.  Burton. 

"Oh,  no;  indeed,  no,"  he  responded,  warmly.  "Mrs. 
Gorman  does  much  for  the  church,  and  gives  a  great 
deal  of  her  own  time,  but  so  does  Mr.  Gorman.  It  is 
remarkable  that  a  man  of  such  vast  interests  can  attend 
so  many  of  our  conventions,  both  diocesan  and  national, 
besides  finding  time  to  act  as  vestryman.  And  his 
interest  in  things  is  keen,  and  his  influence  always  for 
good." 

Darkness  was  now  coming  on  rapidly,  and  Dr. 
Squires  stopped  stroking  his  Van  Dyck  beard  long 
enough  to  rise  and  press  a  button  in  the  wall.  The 
saloon  was  flooded  with  a  softened  radiance. 

Just  then  Gorman,  in  the  full  glory  of  his  captain's 
uniform,  entered.  From  the  gleaming  black  visor  of 
his  cap,  with  its  glittering  anchor,  to  his  white  canvas 
shoes,  he  looked  the  typical  yachtsman.  And  his  walk 
had  that  swaggering  superiority  which  a  natty  uniform 
often  begets  in  its  wearer.  Under  his  dark  blue  coat 
he  wore  a  sweater,  for  the  winds  that  swept  the  deck 
were  cold  and  penetrating,  and  tinged  with  ice  from  off 


224  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

the  New  Foundland  banks.  Spray  clung  to  the  hair 
on  the  sides  of  his  head,  while  his  almost  bald  dome 
glistened  with  the  drops  that  had  spilled  from  his  cap 
as  it  was  removed. 

"I  came  in  to  say  that  it  is  near  dinner  time,"  he 
announced.  "Now,  I  want  you  all  to  be  as  informal 
as  you  please  aboard  this  boat,  and  don't  dress  up  for 
dinner  unless  you  feel  like  it" 

"I  think  we  ought  to  wear  evening  clothes  as  a  com- 
pliment to  each  other,"  said  Mrs.  Burton.  "Besides, 
it  makes  things  seem  more — uh — well,  in  keeping  with 
our  beautiful  surroundings,  you  know." 

The  others  agreed,  and  the  guests  went  to  their  state- 
rooms to  prepare  for  the  first  meal  aboard. 

Gorman  returned  to  the  deck,  to  get  his  "sea  legs" 
again,  he  explained,  but  really  to  gloat  over  his  new 
possession,  and  to  muse  upon  this  new  evidence  of  his 
dominating  genius. 

Bronson  and  Burton  meanwhile  put  on  their  evening 
clothes,  and  then  ascended  to  the  smoking  room  off 
the  top  deck.  They  were  joined  by  Dr.  Squires,  and 
while  waiting  for  the  bugle  call  to  dinner,  all  indulged 
in  some  appetizing  liquids  from  the  buffet,  and  passed 
the  time  in  pleasant  chat. 

"Why  do  you  suppose  he  named  this  yacht  the 
Buccaneer?"  asked  the  reverend  gentleman,  as  he  saw 
Gorman,  with  chest  expanded,  stalk  past  the  window. 

Bronson's  lean  visage  was  contorted  into  a  smile, 
and  he  helped  himself  to  a  drink  as  he  replied :  "Oh, 
just  a  whim,  I  suppose.  There's  nothing  further  from 
our  host's  real  character  than  such  a  name." 

"I  understand  that  he  wanted  to  call  it  the  Corsair," 
said  the  heavy-faced  Burton,  "but  there  was  another 
yacht  already  registered  under  that  name." 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  22$ 

"It  was  just  a  whim,  anyhow,"  added  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury.  "One  of  the  peculiarities  of  the 
great,  I  suppose,  is  to  indulge  in  such  whims." 

Gorman  had  in  reality  lamented  the  fact  that  he  could 
not  christen  his  yacht  the  Corsair.  In  his  early  youth 
he  had  been  charmed  by  the  tales  he  had  read  of  the 
picturesque  courage  and  daring  of  those  sea  raiders 
along  the  North  African  coast.  And  of  all  the  poems 
he  had  ever  read  the  only  one  that  he  cared  to  manorize 
was  Byron's  "Conrad  the  Corsair."  And  now,  as  he 
paced  the  deck  in  lonely  grandeur,  he  tried  to  imagine 
himself  the  heroic  and  terrible  Conrad : 

"That  man  of  loneliness  and  mystery, 
Scarce  seen  to  smile,  and  seldom  heard  to  sigh; 
Whose  name  appals  the  fiercest  of  his  crew." 

At  this  point  Gorman  had  reached  the  bridge  of  the 
lower  deck  near  the  wheelhouse,  when  a  sailor  ap- 
proached.   "How  far  out  are  we,  my  man  ?"  he  asked, 

"Not  more'n  a  dozen  leagues,  captain,  though  she's 
makin'  good  time,"  replied  the  sailor,  saluting  and 
passing  on.  He  had  recognized  the  owner  in  the  faint 
light  shed  by  the  binnacle  lamp. 

Gorman  reveled  in  the  salute  and  the  title,  though 
he  could  not  have  given  a  half  dozen  commands  in 
correct  language.  Two  other  seamen  now  joined  in 
the  work  of  repairing  the  davits  of  one  of  the  small 
boats  that  the  stiff  breeze  had  weakened.  When  they 
had  finished,  their  hands  were  grimy,  their  faces  wet 
with  spray,  and  their  uniforms  soggy  and  bedraggled. 
They  saluted  as  they  passed  on  the  way  aft  Gorman 
coldly  returned  the  salute  and  then,  inhaling  a  chest 
full  of  salt-tinged  air,  adjusted  his  cap  more  firmly 


226  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

and  resumed  his  walk.  As  he  paraded  he  recalled  more 
of  the  poem : 

"What  should  it  be  that  thus  their  faith  can  bind? 
The  power  of  thought — the  magic  of  the  mind: 
Linked  with  success,  assumed  and  kept  with  skill, 
That  moulds  another's  weakness  to  its  will. 
Wields  with  their  hands,  but  still  to  these  unknown, 
Makes  even  their  mightiest  deeds  appear  his  own. 
Such  hath  it  been — shall  be — beneath  the  sun, 
The  many  still  must  labor  for  the  one! 
'Tis  nature's  doom — but  let  the  wretch  who  toils — " 

The  bugle  call  for  dinner  now  sounded,  and  Gorman 
went  below  to  find  the  others  assembled  about  the 
long  table  in  the  dining  room. 


CHAPTER    V 

MERCEDES  LEAVES  THE  PARTY 

All  the  guests  were  in  evening  dress,  and  the  scene 
at  first  glance  was  much  like  a  dinner  party  ashore. 
But  the  uniform  of  Gorman  and  those  of  the  stewards 
lent  a  nautical  air  that  was  accentuated  at  times  by  the 
roll  of  the  vessel  and  the  muffled  throb,  throb  of  the 
distant  engines. 

A  pleasant  buzz  of  conversation  began  with  the 
cocktails,  of  which  all  partook  save  the  rector  and  his 
wife.  Gorman  was  in  high  spirits,  and  he  beamed  upon 
every  one,  and  at  times  allowed  his  eyes  to  feast  upon 
the  shoulders  of  Mercedes,  which  so  contrasted  with 
the  lean  lines  of  Mrs.  Burton,  the  commonplace  pro- 
portions of  Mrs.  Bronson,  and  the  too  ample  dimen- 
sions of  the  rector's  wife. 

"We're  going  to  have  a  drizzly  night  without,"  Gor- 
man said,  addressing  himself  to  no  one  in  particular, 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  227 

"so  I  think  it  would  be  especially  good  to  have  music 
to  add  to  the  comfort  indoors.  Our  stewards  are 
musicians — I  picked  them  on  that  account — and  they 
will  give  us  a  concert  after  dinner." 

When  dinner  was  over  all  adjourned  to  the  saloon, 
where  the  ladies  talked  of  social  affairs,  and  the  men, 
with  their  gracious  permission,  smoked  as  they  chatted 
with  the  rector  about  the  new  cathedral.  Eight  stew- 
ards came  in  with  musical  instruments,  and  played  a 
repertoire  of  German  and  French  music.  A  marine 
march  by  Thiele,  a  Wolff  mazurka,  a  fantasie  from 
Gounod's  "Faust,"  and  a  Strauss  waltz  enlivened  the 
feelings  of  every  one. 

"Suppose  we  walk  on  deck  for  a  while?"  Gorman 
suddenly  suggested.  "The  air  is  bracing  though  damp, 
and  these  military  tunes  would  make  walking  a  fine 
exercise." 

The  others  agreed,  and  maids  and  valets  brought 
wraps.  They  paired  off  for  the  promenade,  Gorman 
taking  Mercedes,  Bronson  escorting  Mrs.  Burton,  Mr. 
Burton  walking  with  the  rector's  obese  wife,  and  the 
well  fed  Squires  bringing  up  the  rear  with  Mrs.  Bron- 
son. A  lively  march  set  them  to  stepping  gaily  along 
the  polished  deck. 

All  around  them  the  black  waters  licked  hungrily 
at  the  ship,  and  sometimes  the  promenaders  were  wet 
with  spray  from  the  waves  that  leaped  up  and,  foiled 
and  sputtering,  were  dashed  away  by  her  steel  sides. 

The  music  changed  from  a  German  march  to  selec- 
tions from  "Carmen."  Gorman  had  once  possessed  a 
fair  baritone  voice,  and  he  regularly  sang  with  the 
congregation  of  St.  Mark's,  though  he  had  not  caroled 
alone  since  the  days  of  his  youth.  But,  as  he  now  heard 
the  strains  of  the  Toreador  song,  he  felt  so  in  harmony 


228  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

with  its  triumphant  spirit  that  he  bellowed  forth  the 
words.  His  voice  was  somewhat  cracked  from  disuse, 
but  the  fact  was  partly  concealed  by  the  wash  of  the 
waves,  the  howl  of  the  winds  about  the  deck,  and  the 
footsteps  of  the  promenaders.  When  the  song  was 
ended  the  others  stopped  to  applaud,  and  there  were 
requests  for  more.  But  he  modestly  declined,  and  all 
resumed  walking. 

From  music  to  thoughts  of  poesy  was  a  natural  and 
easy  transition.  And  what  particular  poem  should 
he  now  think  of  but  "Conrad?"  While  he  did  not 
voice  the  words,  they  sang  themselves  to  him  in  har- 
mony with  the  music,  or,  when  the  orchestra  was  silent, 
in  time  with  the  vibrant  throb  of  the  engines,  and  the 
swirl  of  the  waves.  Again  he  imagined  himself  the 
heroic  Corsair : 


"Robust  but  not  Herculean — to  the  sight 
No  giant  frame  sets  forth  his  common  height; 
Yet,  in  the  whole,  who  paused  to  look  again, 
Saw  more  than  marks  the  crowd  of  vulgar  men; 
They  gaze  and  marvel  how — and  still  confess 
That  thus  it  is,  but  why  they  cannot   guess. 
Sunburnt  his  cheek,  his  forehead  high  and  pale, 
The  sable  curls  in  wild  profusion  veil 
(But  not,  alas,  his  forehead  high  and  pale); 
And  oft  perforce  his  rising  lip  reveals 
The  haughtier  thought  it  curbs  but  scarce  conceals. 
Though  smooth  his  voice  and  calm  his  general  mien. 
Still  seems  there  something  he  would  not  have  seen: 
His  features'  deepening  lines  and  varying  hue 
At  times  attracted,  yet  perplexed  the  view, 
As  if  within  that  murkiness  of  mind 
Worked  feelings  fearful  and  yet  undefined. 

"He  knew  himself  a  villain — but  he  deemed 
The  rest  no  better  than  the  thing  he  seemed; 
And  scorned  the  best  as  hypocrites  who  hid 
Those  deeds  the  bolder  spirit  plainly  did. 
He  knew  himself  detested,  but  he  knew 
The  hearts  that  loathed  him  crouched  and  dreaded  too.'* 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  229 

Mercedes  now  asked  to  be  taken  in  as  she  feared  the 
chill  air  would  affect  her  voice,  and  as  the  rest  of  the 
party  were  tired  of  promenading,  all  followed  her 
into  the  saloon.  Every  one  felt  better  for  the  exercise, 
while  Mercedes'  color  was  radiant,  and  her  eyes  had  an 
added  brightness.  The  musicians  had  gone  through 
their  repertoire  by  this  time,  and  at  a  nod  from  Gor- 
man they  tropped  out  to  join  their  fellows  in  the 
quarters  below. 

"Will  you  sing  to  us,  Mrs.  Durkin?"  asked  Gorman, 
as  soon  as  all  were  seated  about  the  cheerful  birch  log 
fire  that  had  been  lighted  on  the  andirons. 

She  sat  down  before  the  piano  and  asked  what  they 
would  prefer.     All  waited  for  Gorman  to  speak. 

"  'The  Rosary,' "  he  suggested,  "or  perhaps  you 
would  like  to  sing  'Beyond  the  Gates  of  Paradise'  ?" 

"An  excellent  suggestion,"  said  Dr.  Squires,  while 
Bronson  muttered  "Fine,"  and  the  ladies  chorused, 
"Yes,  do." 

She  sang  both  songs,  and  then  Gorman  said,  "Now 
something  more  lively,  please.    Say,  'In  Old  Madrid.'  " 

And  then,  with  much  more  feeling,  she  rendered  the 
beautiful,  tender  melody  so  suggestive  of  voluptuous, 
dark-eyed  maids,  with  lips  of  coral  and  eyes  of  light, 
pining  for  love  amid  starlit  rose  gardens,  and  kissed 
only  by  soft  zephyrs  from  Mediterranean  shores.  All 
sat  in  rapt  attention  till  the  last  strains  had  died  away. 

Eight  resonant  strokes  of  the  ship's  bell  now  reminded 
everyone  that  the  midnight  hour  had  come,  and  they 
went  below  and  aft  to  their  staterooms.  Gorman  bade 
them  good  night  at  their  respective  doors,  and  walked 
on  alone  to  his  room,  which  was  in  the  very  end  of 
the  boat,  and  farthest  removed  from  the  rumble  of 
machinery  in  the  center. 


230  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

"How  lonely  Mr.  Gorman  must  be,  and  yet  he  gives 
so  much  of  his  time  and  money  toward  making  others 
happy,"  remarked  Mrs.  Squires  to  Mrs.  Burton,  as 
their  host's  back  disappeared  down  the  hallway. 

"Yes,  but  there  are  compensations,"  enigmatically 
responded  the  wife  of  his  ally.  With  an  exchange  of 
sweet  smiles  the  ladies  then  followed  their  husbands 
into  their  respective  and  respectable  chambers. 

But  there  was  no  compensation  on  that  voyage  of  the 
kind  that  Gorman  desired.  The  secret  door  between 
his  chamber  and  that  of  Mercedes  was  pressed  by  him 
in  vain,  for  it  had  been  fastened  on  the  other  side. 
And  so  it  was  the  next  night,  and  the  next,  and  the 
next,  and  during  all  the  voyage.  Often  before  in  the 
past  had  she  denied  him,  but  always  with  plausible 
reasons.  It  was  only,  as  she  assured  herself  again  and 
again,  to  escape  what  to  one  of  her  nature  was  a  living 
death,  that  she  had  left  her  mountain  cabin  to  live  in 
New  York.  Women  far  worse  than  she,  as  she  well 
knew,  and  as  history  frequently  showed,  had  held  hon- 
ored places  in  the  world's  greatest  society.  But  even 
to  be  the  Pompadour  of  the  most  powerful  man  in 
America  no  longer  had  the  least  attraction  for  her. 
Then  why  had  she  consented  to  accompany  him  on  this 
voyage?     She  would  make  no  satisfactory  answer  to 

this  question,  though  he  asked  it  repeatedly. 

***** 

The  voyage  was  smooth  all  the  way  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean. The  guests  walked  the  decks,  or  lolled  in  the 
sun  parlor,  or  played  shuffle-board  on  the  stern  deck, 
or  pinochle  in  the  saloon.  When  tired  of  these  diver- 
sions the  men  talked  and  smoked  in  Gorman's  state- 
room or  in  the  captain's  cabin,  and  the  women  chatted 
in  the  saloon  or  in  each  other's  rooms,  or  read  English 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  231 

translations  of  French  novels  that  they  found  in  the 
library.  The  evenings  were  spent  much  as  the  first  one 
was,  except  that  after  the  fifth  evening  Mercedes 
declined  to  walk  on  deck,  although  the  few  songs  she 
sang  were  gay  and  light  hearted. 

But  she  would  leave  the  others  soon  after  singing, 
and  would  lock  herself  in  her  stateroom.  Then  she 
would  open  a  secret  slide  in  her  trunk  and,  taking 
therefrom  a  photograph,  gaze  fondly  upon  it  and  kiss 
it,  weeping  sometimes  the  while.  Then  she  would  put 
her  hand  to  her  bosom  to  feel  a  chamois  skin  bag 
that  she  kept  sewed  to  her  corsage.  This  bag  contained 
her  jewels,  of  which  she  had  bought  a  large  number  in 
the  past  year,  though  she  wore  but  few. 

The  yacht  proceeded  leisurely,  making  less  than 
three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  a  day,  while  if  there  had 
been  need  she  could  have  done  a  hundred  miles  more. 
There  were  some  beautiful  moonlight  nights  when  the 
placid  sea  was  bathed  in  a  soft  radiance,  and  a  brilliant 
silvery  path  stretched  away  from  the  ship's  side, 
seemingly  on  into  infinity.  Had  both  love  and  youth 
been  aboard  the  Buccaneer  would  have  made  an  ideal 
floating  Elysium.  But  Mercedes  was  the  only  really 
youthful  passenger,  and  her  heart  was  not  with  her. 

On  the  morning  of  the  tenth  day,  which  was  Sunday, 
the  yacht  steamed  into  the  harbor  of  Marseilles.  All 
the  guests  were  anxious  to  go  ashore,  and  two  of  the 
large  boats  were  lowered.  Gorman  himself  gave  the 
orders.  As  he  shouted  to  his  hirelings  through  a  trum- 
pet the  only  nautical  commands  he  had  yet  familiarized 
himself  with,  he  wondered  if  Mercedes  and  the  others 
were  being  impressed  by  his  seamanship  and  his  mas- 
terful presence.    The  yacht's  real  captain,  who  received 


232  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

a  salary  of  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  a  year,  stood 
respectfully  to  one  side  and  remained  silent. 

At  a  signal  the  second  mate  jingled  a  bell  for  half 
speed.  "Ease  her!"  shouted  Gorman  at  the  pilot  house 
window.  "Slow  down.  Wear  away  three  points  north, 
and  choke  her !" 

Bells  jingled  sharply.  The  wheel  spokes  spun.  The 
propeller  reversed  itself  and  kicked  up  an  angry 
froth. 

"Man  the  davits  on  the  weather  bow!  Look  sharp, 
lads!  Stand  by  the  tackles — ease  her  off.  Take 
charge,  Mr.  Townley.    Let  her  go !" 

The  first  mate  and  four  seamen  sprang  to  their 
places.  A  boat  bearing  the  Buccaneer's  name  in  golden 
letters  swung  free  of  its  davits,  and  descended  with  a 
gentle  splash  into  the  sea.  The  ladder  was  lowered, 
and  Messrs.  Burton  and  Bronson  and  their  wives 
stepped  gingerly  down  it  and  into  the  boat  that  was 
held  steady  by  two  stalwart  sailors.  Gorman  then  went 
below  and  quickly  changed  his  costume.  Dr.  Squires 
and  his  wife  and  Mercedes  were  waiting  at  the  rail 
when  he  returned.  They  all  got  into  the  next  boat,  and 
were  rowed  rapidly  after  the  other,  which  was  now  far 
in  the  lead  on  its  way  to  the  quay. 

The  day  was  a  chromatic  gem  of  beauty.  The  sky,  a 
liquid  turquoise,  dotted  with  the  silvery  white  of  gulls' 
wings,  and  the  sea,  a  sapphire  mirror  flecked  with 
argent  foam,  framed  an  opalescent  picture.  Giant 
steamers  with  their  flags  of  many  hues,  the  sails  that 
bellied  with  the  breeze,  great  wreaths  of  grayish  smoke, 
the  rowboats  with  their  occupants,  and  quaint  buildings 
on  the  distant  shore — all  these  were  luminous  with 
color,  and  at  times  all  seemed  to  dance  between  the 
two  transparencies  of  atmosphere  and  water.     And 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  233 

as  the  natural  music  for  this  scene,  the  countless  chimes 
of  Sunday  in  Marseilles  were  heard  across  the  gently 
undulating  waves. 

On  the  quay  the  party  hired  carriages  for  a  drive 
along  the  Prado.  After  half  an  hour  Gorman,  Bron- 
son  and  Burton  left  the  others  and  went  to  the  main 
hotel  to  inquire  for  cablegrams.  Men  of  affairs  like 
them  could  not  take  a  long  cruise  without  thus  keeping 
in  touch  with  their  country.  They  were  to  meet  the 
rest  of  the  party  within  an  hour  in  front  of  the  Palais 
de  Longchamps,  the  great  structure  in  Renaissance 
style  that  houses  the  musemus  of  painting  and  natural 
history  at  the  end  of  the  Durance  aqueduct. 

After  the  three  men  drove  away  Mercedes  insisted 
on  riding  by  herself  in  a  small  trap,  leaving  the  rector 
and  the  other  ladies  in  a  large  carriage  which  drove 
ahead.  "It  reminds  me  of  my  favorite  trap  at  home — 
the  one  I  drove  at  the  horse  show,"  was  the  only  excuse 
she  made. 

In  Marseilles  are  more  persons  who  speak  Spanish 
than  anywhere  else  in  France,  except  along  the  western 
border.  Mercedes  was  rejoiced  when  she  learned  that 
her  driver  knew  the  language.  She  engaged  him  in 
a  long  conversation.  Her  carriage  fell  further  and  fur- 
ther behind  the  other.  Finally,  a  twenty-dollar  gold 
piece,  fresh  from  the  American  Treasury,  was  pressed 
into  the  driver's  willing  palm,  and  his  horse's  head  was 
turned  down  a  side  street  leading  to  a  railway  station, 
from  which  an  express  train  for  Paris  was  soon  to 
depart.  The  lash  was  applied  and  the  horse  was  foam- 
ing with  perspiration  when  the  trap  arrived  at  the 
depot  with  four  minutes  to  spare. 

Three  hours  later  a  party  of  excited  sightseers  re- 
turned to  the  Buccaneer.     Frantic  inquiries  had  been 


234  THE  AMERICAN   EMPEROR 

made  of  the  police  for  trace  of  an  American  woman 
who  had  strangely  disappeared  in  broad  daylight  in  the 
city's  streets.  But  two  days  and  nights  passed  and  the 
search,  though  aided  by  the  American  Consul  and 
many  private  detectives,  resulted  in  no  definite  clue. 
On  the  evening  of  the  second  day  a  letter  was  brought 
out  to  the  Buccaneer  by  a  special  messenger.  It  was 
from  Paris,  and  Gorman's  hand  trembled  as  he  opened 
it.  "I  will  never  return,  and  you  shall  never  find  me," 
were  among  the  phrases  that  he  read. 

To  the  others  he  translated  the  letter  thus :  "Mrs. 
Durkin's  absence  is  explained  by  a  strange  and  inex- 
plicable whim  to  leave  suddenly  for  Paris,  where  she 
has  some  distant  relatives.  She  will  visit  there  for 
some  weeks,  and  will  not  rejoin  us  on  the  yacht.  She 
wishes  us  a  happy  voyage,  however,  and  hopes  to  see 
us  all  again  soon." 

Although  he  smiled  as  he  conveyed  this  message, 
the  others  were  puzzled  by  the  pallor  of  his  face.  He 
hastily  withdrew  to  his  own  stateroom,  where  he  spent 
a  desperate  half  hour  in  calming  his  troubled  spirit. 

The  plan  for  a  Mediteranean  cruise  was  abandoned 
by  all.  It  was  decided  to  leave  at  once  for  Naples, 
where  berths  were  to  be  engaged  on  the  first  liner  to 
New  York,  the  Buccaneer's  crew  to  return  with  her  at 
a  more  leisurely  speed. 

And  that  night,  as  the  majestic  yacht  steamed  south- 
ward over  a  placid  sea,  leaving  a  broad  wake  that 
foamed  and  gleamed  phosphorescently  in  the  pale  light 
of  a  waning  moon,  a  solitary  figure  walked  her  decks, 
and  at  times,  with  folded  arms,  stood  out  upon  her 
bridge.    It  was  the  figure  of  a  haggard,  gloomy  man. 

END   OF    BOOK    FOURTH 


BOOK   FIFTH 
THE  OLIGARCHY 


CHAPTER    I 

SOME  OPINIONS  OF  DELAVAL 

"Hear  them  yell,"  said  Delaval,  his  patrician  lips 
curving  into  a  cynical  smile,  as  from  a  gallery  seat 
beside  Lyle  he  watched  the  cheering  thousands  in 
Madison  Square  Garden. 

"Hear  them  yell,"  he  repeated,  "and  yet  nine-tenths 
of  them,  who  have  come  here  to  'rejoice'  over  the  elec- 
tion of  their  party's  candidate  for  President,  know 
nothing  of  the  issues  of  the  campaign  just  ended. 
They  are  won  by  sight  and  sound,  not  by  reason — by 
appeals  to  the  eye  and  ear,  rather  than  to  the  mind. 
They  are  charmed  by  the  waving  flags,  the  band 
music,  the  bombastic,  meaningless  oratory,  and  by  the 
venerable  appearance  of  those  Civil  War  generals  in 
uniform  back  there  on  the  platform,  those  survivors 
of  a  war  in  which  none  of  our  oligarchy  of  traders 
ever  fought." 

"But  the  reform  ticket  came  near  winning,"  returned 
Lyle.  "And  next  time  it  will  win,  for  the  forces  be- 
hind it  will  be  better  organized,  and  their  cause  is  fast 
gaining  ground." 

His  was  the  optimism  of  youth,  aided  by  success  in 
235 


236  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

love  and  in  his  chosen  vocation,  and  he  could  not  be 
brought  to  share  in  the  pessimism  of  his  older  friend. 

"The  reform  party,  by  whatever  name  it  may  be 
known,  cannot  triumph,"  said  Delaval ;  "or,  to  put  it 
another  way,  if  it  should  triumph  it  would  in  reality 
have  ceased  to  be  a  reform  party,  for  Gorman  and  his 
allies  would  have  captured  its  leaders  beforehand. 
That  is  what  has  happened  in  this  election  :  the  methods 
of  the  oligarchy  wrecked  one  party,  and  then  the  same 
forces  took  command  of  the  other,  and  put  it  in 
power." 

"That  is  true,  but  in  time  the  majority " 

"Ah,  the  majority  again.  My  dear  boy,  the  trouble 
with  this  republic  is  that  the  majority  vote  rules.  We 
should  limit  the  ballot  to  include,  at  most,  those  who 
can  read  the  Constitution.  Of  course,  no  one  can 
really  understand  that  sacred  document  but  the  judges, 
yet  all  who  vote  should  at  least  be  able  to  read  it.  We 
are  ruled  now  by  the  mob  or,  rather,  through  the  mob, 
and  as  usual  mob  rule  is  proving  the  worst  kind  oi 
tyranny." 
"The  majority,  then,  are  unfit  to  govern  themselves?" 
"Always,  and  especially  here,  where  the  dregs  of  old 
world  society  are  welcomed  by  millions  and,  along  with 
our  ignorant  negroes,  given  the  rights  of  free  citizen- 
ship as  if  those  rights  were  of  no  value.  But  the  ma- 
jority are  always  wrong  a  majority  of  the  time,  and 
when  they  happen  to  be  right,  a  majority  of  their  rep- 
resentatives can  be  corrupted  a  majority  of  the  time 
'If  this  be  treason,  make  the  most  of  it.'  " 
"How  about  educating  public  opinion  ?" 
"I  am  reminded  of  a  brilliant  English  essayist,  who 
defined  the  moulding  of  public  opinion  as  organizing 
the  ignorance  of  a  community,  and  raising  it  to  the 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  237 

dignity  of  physical  force.  That  is  even  more  true  of 
America  than  of  England." 

"What  would  you  have  then,  a  monarchy  ?" 

"I  am  not  ready  to  say.  But  I  can  take  the  multi- 
plication table,  and  by  it  prove  that  the  American 
republic  is  a  failure — as  a  republic.  I  will  not  bore  you 
with  many  statistics,  but  while  the  mob  down  there  are 
singing  'The  Star  Spangled  Banner'  I  will  give  you  a 
few  figures.  We  pay  our  President  fifty  thousand  a 
year.  And  yet  to  elect  him,  the  oligarchy  has  just 
spent  seven  to  ten  millions.  Seven  millions  would  pay 
the  President's  salary  for  a  hundred  and  forty  years. 
Ten  millions  would  pay  it  for  two  hundred  years,  and 
yet  his  term  lasts  but  four." 

"That  is  astounding,  but " 

"Wait  a  moment,  please.  The  tariff-created  barons 
are  now  joined  with  the  railway  and  banking  clique  in 
bleeding  the  people.  A  fair  rate  of  interest  on  the 
bogus  railway  bonds  alone  means  that  a  hundred  and 
fifty  millions  are  being  exacted  every  year  above  decent 
profits  by  the  railways  alone.  You  see,  then,  how 
much  more  our  rulers  cost  us  than  is  paid  for  royalty 
by  the  people  of  the  nation  against  which  our  ancestors 
rebelled.  The  British  King  gets  a  paltry  four  millions 
a  year." 

It  was  a  wintry  night,  and  the  vast  hall  was  none  too 
warm,  yet  Lyle  wiped  the  perspiration  from  his  brow. 
"Your  figures  appal  me,"  he  said.  "I  have  followed 
this  campaign  closely,  and  have  heard  much  talk  of 
millions,  but  I  never  thought  of  comparing  conditions 
here  with  those  abroad." 

The  meeting  had  ended  by  this  time,  and  the  two 
friends  followed  the  multitude  out  of  the  building  and 
into  the  brilliantly  lighted  streets.    Lyle  had  to  return 


238  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

to  the  Circle  office  to  write  his  report.  He  walked 
several  blocks  south  with  Delaval,  whose  lodgings  were 
nearby,  before  leaving  him  to  board  an  elevated  train 
for  Park  Row.  Delaval  had  stayed  away  from  a 
theater  that  night  to  attend  the  meeting  because,  as  he 
said,  it  was  "more  interesting  than  any  play  to  watch 
the  people  make  fools  of  themselves." 

As  they  walked  along  they  continued  talking  of  the 
campaign  that  had  kept  the  country  in  a  turmoil  for 
half  a  year. 

"You  didn't  return  from  Europe  in  time  to  report  the 
early  features,"  said  Delaval.  "By  the  way,  when  are 
you  going  to  introduce  me  to  your  wife?  Why  all  this 
mystery,  after  a  marriage  and  honeymoon  abroad?" 

"In  a  few  weeks  I  will  explain,"  replied  Lyle, 
evasively.  "Believe  me,  I  am  simply  carrying  out  the 
wish  of  m — m — my  wife.  I  expect  to  have  you  come 
and  see  us,  if  you  will  be  so  good.  But  about  the  early 
features  of  the  campaign?" 

"Well,  there  were  things  that  the  Evening  Hope 
knew  of  and  didn't  print,  and  which  never  appeared  in 
the  other  papers  for  some  reason  or  other.  Maybe  the 
Circle  or  the  Star  would  have  used  the  facts  if  they  had 
known,  but  I  doubt  it  very  much.  Well,  there  were 
mysterious  cruises  by  the  private  yachts  owned  by  the 
Wall  Street  crowd,  and  on  board  were  the  man  who  has 
just  been  elected,  and  other  big  politicians,  including 
his  manager.  This  was  long  before  a  convention  was 
held  to  nominate  anybody,  and  the  reporters  were  not 
on  the  watch." 

"Where  do  you  suppose  all  the  money  went  that  was 
used  to  elect  him?" 

"Famous  speakers  were  hired  by  the  dozen,  and 
special  trains,  and  bands  and  quartette  singers,   and 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  239 

sometimes  whole  theatrical  troupes.  Newspapers 
printed  in  every  language  in  the  big  cities,  and  country 
press  bureaus  that  supply  the  weeklies  which  tht- 
farmers  read,  were  also  bought  rigut  and  left.  An  ex- 
grocervman  managed  the  party  in  the  nation,  an  ex- 
bartender  in  New  York  City,  and  an  ex-baker  in 
Chicago.  Everything  was  barter  and  sale,  and  the 
whole  country  was  turned  into  a  gigantic  market  place. 
Thus  is  the  majority  vote  influenced.  The  effect  is  as 
demoralizing  as  ever  the  distribution  of  corn  and  wine 
was  among  the  populace  of  Rome." 

"It  does  seem  a  terrible  travesty  of  republican 
institutions.  An  honest  reform  candidate  has  so  little 
chance." 

"No  more  chance  than  a — well,  than  a  fox  has  to 
escape  from  a  pack  of  well  trained  hounds.  Did  you 
ever  see  a  fox  hunt  ?" 

"No,  but  I  have  often  wanted  to  see  one." 

"Well,  it  is  a  picturesque  sport.  On  a  frosty  morn- 
ing the  hunter's  horn  sounds  its  musical  call.  Im- 
patient hounds  bay  deep-mouthed  joy  as  they  are  un- 
leashed for  the  fray.  Men  and  women,  red-coated, 
booted  and  spurred,  cheeks  aglow  from  cool  breezes, 
and  eyes  a-light  with  anticipation,  assemble  on  prancing 
steeds.  The  captive  fox  is  let  loose,  the  dogs'  resound- 
ing barks  awake  the  echoes,  spurs  are  put  to  eager 
steeds,  and  the  chase  is  on.  Across  fields  and  over 
fences,  through  brush  and  bramble,  leaping  ditches 
and  stone  walls,  hurtling  over  quiet  pools  and  roaring 
brooks,  go  the  pursued  and  the  pursuers.  The  flying 
brush  of  the  fox  twinkling  in  and  out  of  coverts  as  he 
runs  for  life  rouses  the  hounds  to  louder  bays,  and  the 
hunters  to  greater  efforts.  The  spurs  sink  deeper  into 
the  horses'  flanks  as  they  are  guided  over  yet  more 


240  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

perilous  barriers,  while  the  blood  of  their  riders  fires 
with  the  lust  for  victory.  At  last  the  fox's  dying 
scream  of  agony  is  heard,  and  to  the  first  man  or 
woman  on  the  scene  goes  the  beautiful  brush  as  a 
trophy.  It  is  a  pitiful  triumph,  after  all.  Think  of  all 
those  people,  and  all  those  horses,  and  all  those  hounds 
after  one  little,  defenseless  fox !  But  no  tears  are  shed, 
for  a  fox  is  but  a  fox. 

"A  big  political  hunt  is  not  vastly  different.  A  man 
hostile  to  lawless  corporations  and  corrupt  politicians 
seeks  office.  The  chase  begins,  not  amid  picturesque 
surroundings,  but  under  the  guise  of  a  legitimate  cam- 
paign. Railway  trains,  newspapers,  well  paid  speakers, 
and  active  and  well  financed  party  committees  are  at 
the  beck  and  call  of  the  powerful  interests.  A  hue  and 
cry  against  the  opposing  candidate  is  raised.  The  race 
starts.  The  hired  hounds  of  the  stump  and  press  begin 
to  bay.  Their  noise  drowns  the  quarry's  cries  of  pro- 
test. He  is  in  an  open  field,  protected  only  by  the 
loosest  libel  laws  in  the  world.  The  race  is  so  swift  that 
he  cannot  pause  for  refuge  even  under  these  laws  until 
too  late  to  win  the  goal.  He  is  misquoted,  misinter- 
preted, misunderstood.  He  is  ridiculed,  maligned, 
vilified.  To  the  wealthy  he  is  branded  as  dangerous, 
to  the  masses  as  a  demagogue.  It  is  he  against  all  the 
others.  The  clangor  and  the  clamor  increase.  His 
cries  of  protest  grow  weaker.  The  voices  of  his  friends 
are  unheard  in  the  general  confusion.  He  seeks  covert 
after  covert,  is  scented  out  and  made  to  fly  again.  The 
chase  grows  hotter  and  fiercer,  the  hounds  bay  louder, 
and  they  lust  terribly  for  his  blood.  Over  barriers  of 
truth,  of  honor,  of  decency  they  go,  and  the  multitude, 
too  far  away  to  judge  well,  are  thrilled  by  the  spectacle. 
The  pursuers  close  in.    Then  comes  the  death  agony, 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  241 

and  the  mangled  remains  of  a  career  of  public  service 
and  honor  are  held  up  to  view.  And  there  are  cheers 
as  at  a  great  victory.  But  this  was  a  human  quarry, 
my  countrymen !  And  tears  are  being  shed  by  those 
near  and  dear  to  him.    Should  they  alone  weep?" 

"That  is  a  wonderful  picture,"  commented  Lyle,  as 
they  paused  before  an  elevated  railway  entrance.  "You 
talk  like  one  inspired." 

"And  yet  I  haven't  had  a  drink  for  two  whole  hours," 
replied  Delaval,  as  he  turned  away.  "I'll  now  go  into 
yonder  emporium  of  damp  joy  and  get  some  liquid 
inspiration.  Then  I  may  think  of  something  more 
wonderful  still." 


CHAPTER    II 

LYLE  INTRODUCES   HIS   WIFE 

All  that  Mercedes  ever  told  Lyle  of  her  reasons  for 
fearing  the  enmity  of  Gorman  was  this: 

"After  the  death  of  my  husband,  who  had  been  un- 
fortunately involved  in  the  telephone  monopoly,  he 
tried  to  make  me  his  mistress.  And  ever  since  I  ran 
away  from  his  yachting  party  to  join  you  in  Paris,  I 
have  feared  for  both  of  us.  He  has  such  a  terrible  spy 
system,  you  know." 

Her  fears  for  his  safety  were  so  great  that  he  yielded 
to  her  wishes  not  to  appear  with  her  on  the  street  in 
daylight  for  the  first  year,  though  he  longed  to  claim 
her  before  all  the  world.  She  herself  went  out  but  lit- 
tle, and  in  public  always  wore  a  veil. 

They  had  been  married  in  Paris  by  the  minister  of  an 
English  church.     Then  they  spent  two  months  there, 


242  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

in  the  season  of  springtime  and  love.  "Ah,  Paris  and 
paradise — they  will  always  mean  the  same  to  me !"  she 
said  as  they  drove  in  the  Champs  Elysees  on  a  May 
morning.  The  horse-chestnut  trees  were  budding,  the 
white  magnolias  were  in  flower,  and  mating  birds  sang 
nuptial  songs. 

"I  was  never  really  happy  before,"  she  murmured, 
dreamily.  "I  am  not  really  good  enough  to  be  happy," 
she  went  on.  "Suppose  I  were  not  good  at  all.  Would 
you  still  love  me?"  And  he  replied  in  the  words  he 
had  once  written  her:  "My  darling,  if  you  are  not 
good,  then  for  me  there  is  no  goodness."  And  when 
she  wept,  and  he  asked  her  why,  she  responded,  "Just 
from  happiness,"  and  then  laughed  away  her  tears. 
Yet  she  felt  that  she  could  never  tell  him  all. 

Upon  their  return  to  New  York  they  lived  quietly  on 
the  West  Side,  near  Central  Park.  Sometimes  in  the 
evening  they  would  go  walking  in  the  park,  and  always 
they  went  past  the  reservoir,  for  that  was  where  they 
had  first  talked  to  each  other.  For  the  social  life  that 
was  left  behind  Mercedes  felt  no  regrets.  Love  alone 
now  sufficed.  The  faithful  Matilda  was  her  only  serv- 
ant, and  Mercedes  was  happier  in  helping  the  mulatto 
maid  to  keep  the  six  rooms  of  their  apartment  in  order 
than  she  had  ever  been  surrounded  by  attendants  in  a 
home  of  luxury. 

They  had  lived  in  this  apartment  seven  months  before 
she  would  consent  to  meet  Gordon's  closest  friend. 
"Think  how  much  it  means  to  me  to  keep  Delaval's 
confidence,"  he  argued.  "He  may  already  suspect  that 
we  are  living  together  unlawfully,  since  I  can't  bring 
him  here  and  can  give  him  no  good  reason." 

"Must  you  have  him?"  she  persisted.  Besides  her 
fears  for  his  safety,  she  was  as  exigent  as  any  young 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  243 

bride  ever  was,  being  jealous  even  of  his  masculine 
friends. 

"Well,  you  know,  dear,  that  without  his  aid  I  can 
never  make  a  success  of  the  magazine  I  want  to  start. 
The  Circle  is  getting  more  and  more  friendly  to  certain 
big  interests,  and  half  the  time  I  can't  write  the  truth 
for  it.  I  wouldn't  even  be  managing  editor  of  it  now 
if  I  were  offered  the  place,  for  I  would  have  to  do  too 
many  things  of  a  disagreeable  nature.  Ransom  is  just 
a  common  politician,  after  all.  I  already  feel  that  I 
have  to  be  his  intellectual  lackey  in  too  many  ways." 

"Oh,  this  terrible  game  of  politics.  Can't  we  leave 
the  country  to  its  troubles  and  go  to  Paris  and  live? 
You  know  I  have  thirty  thousand  from  my  jewels,  and 
you  have  saved  several " 

"Would  you  have  me  retreat  at  the  beginning  of  the 
real  battle,  Mercedes  ?" 

With  Latin  impetuosity  she  rose  and  threw  herself 
in  his  arms.  "No,  no!"  she  cried.  "Please  forgive 
me !  It  was  your  beautiful  idealism  that  drew  us 
together.  You  must  live  your  life  as  you  wish. 
You " 

At  this  instant  the  door  bell  rang.  Matilda  went  to 
the  door,  and  returning,  announced  "Mistah  Devilall." 

After  Mercedes  and  Delaval  had  each  learned  that 
the  other  was  born  on  a  Southern  plantation  and  had 
once  possessed  a  "rebel"  father,  they  at  once  became 
friendly.  He  pleased  her  with  his  conversation,  and 
she  charmed  him  with  her  singing,  and  both  were  soon 
talking  of  their  early  associations.  He  stayed  for 
dinner,  and  the  conversation  between  them  had  con- 
tinued for  almost  an  hour  thereafter,  when  Lyle  inter- 
rupted to  say,  "We  must  talk  about  that  magazine 


244  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

soon,  or  the  whole  evening  will  be  gone,"  and  his  friend 
replied : 

"Yes ;  but  before  we  take  that  up,  I  want  to  tell  you 
of  how  a  trust  in  the  telegraphic  news  of  the  day  has 
been  formed.  The  knowledge  of  this  will  be  important 
to  us  in  planning  our  magazine.  You  have  been  in 
newspaper  work  for  years,  Gordon,  and  yet  you  prob- 
ably know  nothing  of  how  this  new  menace  has  devel- 
oped. I  learned  the  circumstances  only  a  few  days 
ago.  But  it  will  be  necessary  to  exhibit  before  your 
eyes  the  interior  workings  of  this  new  monster  while  I 
explain.  This  being  your  night  off,  you  might  spend 
it  this  way.    May  he  go  ?"  turning  to  Mercedes. 

"Yes,"  she  replied  with  a  smile  of  confidence,  and 
the  two  men  went  out  into  the  December  night. 

They  went  far  down  town,  beyond  the  newspaper 
buildings  in  Park  Row,  and  into  lower  Broadway. 
There  Delaval  showed  Lyle  the  new  offices  of  the  Con- 
federated Press,  which  occupied  two  entire  floors  of  a 
tall  granite  structure.  One  of  Gorman's  aids,  an  ex- 
banker,  had  just  been  made  the  general  manager. 
"There  is  a  secret  private  wire  leading  from  his  office 
to  Gorman's,"  said  Delaval.  "Over  it  goes  all  the  finan- 
cial news  to  be  approved  before  it  is  sent  out  to  the 
nation,"  and  he  explained  fully  the  workings  of  the 
new  organization. 

"And  now  about  our  magazine  plans,"  Lyle  began, 
when  they  had  left  the  building.  "There  is  a  more 
burning  need  than  ever  for  a  great  free  organ  of  public 
opinion — one  that  will  combine  the  enterprise  of  the 
Circle  with  the  dignity  of  the  Atlantic  Review." 
,  "Speaking  of  magazines  and  the  Atlantic  Review," 
was  the  response,  "reminds  me  that  I  have  something 
to  tell  you  of  the  threatened  Gormanization  of  maga- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  245 

zinedom.  However,  it  is  rather  late  to  take  up  that 
subject  now.  But  come  to  Glacken  Hall,  the  social  set- 
tlement, on  your  day  off  next  week,  if  you  possibly 
can.  Try  to  be  there  at  3  o'clock,  will  you  ?  I  promise 
that  you  will  hear  and  perhaps  see  what  will  surprise 
you." 


CHAPTER    III 

GLACKEN   HALL 

Glacken  Hall  had  become  synonymous  in  America 
with  the  work  of  social  settlements.  Originally  it  was 
the  home  of  a  family  named  Glacken.  It  was  built  in 
the  distant  days  before  the  Civil  War,  and  long  before 
the  hordes  of  immigrants  from  Southern  Europe  had 
begun  to  inundate  New  York's  lower  East  Side. 

It  was  an  old  red  building,  fronted  by  a  tower  that 
had  once  seemed  high,  but  which  now  was  dwarfed  by 
the  five-  and  six-story  tenements  that  surrounded  it. 
And  yet  it  had  a  dignity  all  its  own.  The  dull,  time- 
softened  hues  of  its  walls  and  of  the  tall  brick  hedge 
that  encompassed  it,  the  long  French  windows  which 
opened  on  its  veranda,  and  the  lawn  that  was  nobly 
spacious  in  a  neighborhood  where  ground  had  become 
immensely  valuable,  made  it  stand  out  like  a  venerable 
sentinel  at  the  gateway  of  the  past. 

The  original  dweller  had  become  rich  in  trade  with 
the  West  Indies.  After  his  death  a  son,  who  alone  sur- 
vived him,  speculated  in  railway  shares,  and  thus  lost 
all  of  his  patrimony  except  the  Hall  and  the  grounds 
about  it.  That  was  in  the  late  seventies.  His  fiancee 
died  about  the  same  time,  and  the  double  misfortune 


246  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

made  young  Glacken  a  recluse.  He  lived  alone  in  the 
old  house  for  a  decade,  selling  only  enough  of  the 
grounds  in  the  rear  to  enable  him  to  exist  without  labor, 
and  when  he  died  his  heirs,  in  a  distant  city,  were  glad 
enough  to  dispose  of  the  place  at  the  prevailing  market 
prices. 

Some  rich  college  students  were  at  this  time  enthused 
by  reports  of  the  work  being  done  by  social  settlements 
in  Europe,  They  saw  Glacken  Hall,  and  decided  that 
it  was  an  ideal  site  for  such  an  institution.  They  raised 
a  fund,  bought  the  house  as  it  stood,  endowed  it  with 
half  a  million,  and  placed  it  under  the  direction  of  their 
university.  Thus  Glacken  Hall  became  the  first  Ameri- 
can social  settlement,  to  be  followed  by  scores  of  others 
in  a  dozen  years.  And  Ellen  Tyler,  chosen  as  its  head, 
became  to  the  East  Side  what  Arnold  Toynbee,  Oxford 
graduate  and  Christ-like  worker  among  the  poor,  had 
been  a  decade  earlier  to  London's  VVhitechapel  district. 

"It  should  be  called  Tyler  Hall,  just  as  the  first  set- 
tlement in  the  old  world  was  Toynbee  Hall,"  was  often 
said  by  her  admirers.  But  the  sad  eyed,  sweet  faced 
woman  who  was  giving  her  life  to  the  lowly  and  the 
oppressed  always  shook  her  head  at  this,  and  replied 
that  deeds,  not  names,  were  important. 

She  was  dairy  and  sincerely  blessed  in  more  lan- 
guages than  any  other  woman  in  the  world.  Poles  and 
Bohemians,  Italians  and  Greeks,  Jews  and  Irish,  Slavs 
and  Hungarians — all  these  and  other  races  were  repre- 
sented among  those  who  knew  and  loved  her.  She  and 
her  staff  of  young  women  aids  shared  the  daily  life  of 
the  people,  and  gave  them  an  understanding  of  the 
better  things  of  existence.  They  softened  race  hatreds, 
and  harmonized  colonies  of  opposing  faiths,  taught  use- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  247 

ful  arts,  and  instilled  a  love  of  the  beautiful  in  thou- 
sands of  minds. 

One  of  the  big  rooms  at  the  Hall  was  a  playroom  for 
the  children  of  the  neighborhood.  Another  was  a 
theater  where  concerts  and  simple  dramas  were  given. 
And  there  were  a  museum  of  industries,  a  co-operative 
home  for  working  women,  a  school  of  manual  training, 
and  clubs  for  women,  boys  and  girls.  And  more  than 
all,  a  gallery  filled  with  copies  of  famous  pictures  and 
replicas  of  great  statues  brought  a  new  influence  into 
many  sordid  lives,  teaching  a  reverence  for  perfection 
in  color  and  in  form. 

Ugliness  and  discord,  hate  and  strife  were  all  about 
Qacken  Hall.  Not  far  away  the  unclean  streets  were 
made  still  more  repellent  by  billboards  and  signs  in 
glaring  hues,  and  by  a  humanity  that  was  polychro- 
matic, ragged  and  unkempt.  Clanging  street  car  bells, 
rattletrap  cars  and  carts,  elevated  trains  that  roared 
past,  and  shouts  and  curses  in  many  dialects  added 
inharmony  of  sound  to  inharmony  of  sight.  But  as  one 
approached  the  Hall,  the  dissonance  decreased.  The 
billboards  and  the  ugly  signs  all  disappeared.  The 
streets  grew  cleaner,  the  faces  brighter,  the  voices 
softer.  And  however  thickly  the  crowds  might  gather, 
no  riots  ever  marred  the  vicinage  of  the  Hall.  Like  a 
modern  tower  of  Babel  it  stood  among  the  polyglot 
peoples  clustered  about  its  base,  but  it  was  a  tower 
that  brought  order  out  of  chaos,  harmony  out  of 
discord. 

It  was  to  this  place  that  Delaval  had  asked  Lyle  to 
come  to  meet  him.  Why?  Delaval  had  never  been 
interested  in  schemes  for  the  uplifting  of  humanity. 
Rather,  he  was  always  cynical  about  such  things.  But 
he  had  said  that  something  of  interest  concerning  their 


248  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

plans  for  a  new  magazine  would  be  disclosed,  and  Lyle 
nowadays  thought  of  little  else  but  that  subject,  and 
was  ready  to  go  almost  anywhere  to  discuss  it.  Be- 
sides, Delaval  was  to  find  a  large  part  of  the  financial 
backing  for  the  venture,  and  perhaps  the  philanthro- 
pists behind  Glacken  Hall  were  to  help.  Thus  Lyle 
reasoned  as  he  passed  the  aged  brick  gateway,  and 
walked  up  the  worn  stone  steps  of  the  veranda. 

When  he  was  shown  into  the  plainly  furnished  parlor 
he  found  his  friend  there  in  conversation  with  a  young 
woman. 

"Miss  Hampton  is  the  chief  assistant  to  Miss  Tyler," 
Delaval  said  after  the  introduction,  "and  she  is  also 
interested  in  our  magazine-to-be.  In  fact,  she  will  fur- 
nish us  with  some  of  the  sinews  of  war,  though  she 
doesn't  wish  to  be  known  as  having  done  so." 

Lyle  saw  a  handsome  young  woman  who  was  per- 
haps a  few  years  his  junior.  She  was  attired  simply  in 
dark-blue  serge,  and  her  wavy  brown  hair  was  parted 
in  the  middle,  and  combed  back  and  caught  in  a  roll  at 
the  nape  of  her  neck,  in  Grecian  style.  But  her  com- 
manding feature  was  her  eyes,  which,  dark  brown  and 
melancholy,  like  Delaval's,  became  luminous  at  times 
as  with  an  inner  fire  and,  when  she  grew  intensely  earn- 
est, burned  with  an  intensity  that  could  only  have  been 
imparted  by  idealism. 

"Mr.  Delaval  has  told  me  all  about  you,"  she  said, 
smiling  upon  them  both,  "and  I  don't  wonder  that  you 
have  at  last  overcome  even  his  cynicism." 

"But  I  never  could  have  induced  him  to  come  to  a 
social  settlement,  so  you  must  have  more  influence  over 
him  than  I,"  and  Lyle  smiled  back  at  her  in  genuine 
admiration. 

"He  pretends  that  he  isn't  interested  in  the  people  we 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  249 

live  among,  but  simply  in  the  dramatic  possibilities  of 
the  work,"  she  responded. 

"I  really  think,"  Delaval  interrupted  to  say,  "that  to 
try  to  uplift  these  ignorant,  brutalized  foreigners  who 
are  flooding  our  country  is  like  standing  at  the  shore 
with  a  broom  and  attempting  to  sweep  back  the  waves 
of  the  sea." 

"And  I  think,"  she  rejoined,  her  eyes  lighting  up, 
"mat  we  who  help  the  great  and  good  Miss  Tyler  in 
her  splendid  work,  can  aid  in  starting  ripples  of 
beneficence  in  the  ocean  of  life,  ripples  that  may  go  on 
and  on  endlessly,  and  may  even  develop  into  waves  of 
reformation  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  world." 

Delaval  was  looking  at  her  with  a  wistful  tenderness 
as  she  ceased,  and  Lyle  began  to  wonder  just  how  much 
his  friend  was  interested  in  this  new  acquaintance. 

After  a  time  Miss  Hampton  served  tea,  herself  pre- 
paring it  on  an  alcohol  stove,  and  pouring  it  into  fragile 
china  cups  that  had  been  painted  with  flower  designs 
by  children  of  the  art  class  of  the  Hall. 

"And  now  let  us  talk  of  the  magazine,"  said  Delaval. 
"Miss  Hampton,  besides  pledging  ten  thousand  dollars 
toward  it,  can  tell  us  some  interesting  things  about 
Gorman's  imperial  moves.  He  has  started  in  now  to 
rule  magazineism  as  well  as  journalism." 

"Yes,"  Miss  Hampton  added,  "and  he  has  already 
captured  the  strategic  center,  as  Mr.  Delaval  says.  All 
that  I  know  is  that  he  has  taken  a  mortgage  for  a 
million  and  a  half  on  Whistler  &  Company's  plant. 
They  have  the  biggest  publishing  house  in  America, 
and  they  issue  four  magazines,  besides  printing  more 
books  of  all  kinds  than  any  other  house.  Old  Whistler 
recently  died,  and  the  panic  hit  the  concern  hard,  and 
his  heirs  had  to  raise  money  by  a  mortgage." 


25o  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

"They  publish  the  North  Atlantic  Review,  Whistler's 
Weekly  and  Whistler  s  Monthly,  which  influence  the 
opinions  of  millions  of  thinking  people,"  Delaval  re- 
marked. 

"But  they  are  already  conservative ;  why  should  Gor- 
man seek  to  control  them  ?"  asked  Lyle. 

"It  simply  means,"  Delaval  explained,  "that  in  place 
of  a  temporary  and  unstable  control  by  the  railway 
and  other  big  interests,  Gorman  has  substituted  a 
scientific  and  permanent  control.  He  has  placed  at  the 
head  of  this  concern  a  man  whom  he  intends  to  be  his 
chief  lieutenant  in  the  literary  dictatorship  of  America 
— Colonel  George  Littpap,  who  once  edited  a  news- 
paper for  him.  How  did  he  get  the  title  of  colonel? 
By  raising  a  campaign  fund  among  street  railway 
owners  to  help  elect  a  governor,  who  appointed  him  on 
his  staff." 

"But  how  can  he  become  a  literary  dictator?  There 
are  many  other  publishing  houses." 

"The  Whistler  house  is  greater  in  influence  than 
any  four  or  five  others.  Besides,  it  is  the  center,  and  it 
will  be  used  as  the  nucleus  of  a  powerful  organization. 
Already  it  sets  the  pace  in  things  literary  in  America, 
for  our  most  famous  novelist  and  critic  and  our  leading 
humorist  are  under  contract  to  the  firm.  Neither  re- 
fused the  increases  in  royalties  offered  them,  and 
neither  has  since  written  a  line  against  the  oligarchy, 
and  probably  neither  will  do  so." 

"What — can  Gorman  buy  such  men  as  they?" 

"He  not  only  can — he  has.  They  may  not  even 
realize  that  they  are  bought,  but  I'm  afraid  they  do. 
I  know  a  Stock  Exchange  broker  who  tells  me  that  the 
humorist,  who  was  bankrupt  and  greatly  in  debt  not  so 
long  ago,  recently  purchased  a  hundred  thousand  dol- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  251 

Jars'  worth  of  telephone  stock  just  before  it  advanced 
fifty  per  cent,  in  value.  What  more  reasonable  than 
to  suppose  that  some  one  in  a  position  to  know  told  him 
when  to  buy  it,  or  even  loaned  him  the  money  for  the 
purpose?  Oh,  he's  'an  amoosin'  cuss,'  our  great  hu- 
morist is,  as  Artemus  Ward  would  have  said,  but  like 
most  of  the  entertaining  class,  he  has  no  ideals.  Re- 
cently Whistler's  Monthly  contained  a  eulogistic  article 
about  him  by  Colonel  Littpap,  in  which  it  was  said  that 
under  the  surface  of  his  genial  humor  he  had  deep 
convictions.  What  those  convictions  are  I  would  like 
to  know." 

"Why,  he  is  just  a  joke  writer  for  hire,"  said  Lyle, 
disgustedly.  "But  William  Steen  Stalls,  the  novelist, 
used  to  have  radical  opinions,  and  he  freely  expressed 
them.  I  remember  he  denounced  the  coal  trust  for  its 
wholesale  robbery  of  the  people." 

"I  never  had  any  faith  in  him.  His  style  is  so 
drearily  tame.  It  makes  me  think  of  what  a  clever 
English  essayist  said  of  one  of  his  contemporaries: 
'He  writes  fiction  as  though  it  were  a  painful  duty.'  I 
fear  that  no  one  who  lacks  red  blood  in  his  literary 
style  can  have  it  in  his  veins.  However,  he  is  regarded 
generally  as  our  most  eminent  literary  person,  and  so 
Gorman  wants  to  control  him.  Augustus  Caesar  pat- 
ronized Virgil,  James  the  Second  honored  Dryden, 
Louis  Fourteenth  favored  some  of  the  famous  writers 
of  his  reign,  Napoleon  exalted  Chateaubriand,  and 
Gorman,  in  his  more  direct  and  simple  way,  has  simply 
bought  our  most  refulgent  literary  lights— or  those 
who  pass  for  such  among  us." 

"And  he  has  also  taken  a  mortgage  on  Peachton  & 
Company,  the  second  largest  publishing  firm,"  Miss 


252  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

Hampton  added.  "He  intends  to  reorganize  both,  and 
sell  enough  stock  to  reimburse  himself." 

"Surely,  that  is  reducing  literature  to  the  level  of 
trade,"  said  Lyle,  looking  gloomily  from  one  to  the 
other.    "Is  nothing  sacred  to  him?" 

"Nothing,"  replied  Delaval.  "I  think  that  if  it  were 
not  inconsistent  with  church  doctrine,  and  would  not 
reflect  upon  himself,  he  would  organize  a  company  to 
control  collection  plates  and  boxes,  and  sell  the  stock 
on  'Change,  manipulating  it  in  his  own  interest." 

"And  yet  we  must  not  blame  him  personally,"  Miss 
Hampton  hastened  to  say.  "Although  I  am  not  a 
Christian  Scientist — I  accept  no  creed — I  believe  in  the 
doctrine  of  the  impersonality  of  all  eviL  We  are 
gripped  by  good  or  bad  impulses,  whose  source  is 
unknown  to  us.  Mr.  Gorman  seems  to  be  completely 
controlled  by  a  terrible  force  that  is  largely  evil,  and 
I  think  it  our  duty  to  oppose  that  force.  For  all  his 
brilliant  mind  he  is,  I  fear,  a  moral  idiot,  or  nearly  so. 
He  is  now  planning  the  greatest  of  all  trusts,  and  its 
success  will  mean  misery  and  death  to  many.  That  is 
why  I  want  to  help  you  start  a  magazine  to  combat 
him." 

"What  new  trust  is  he  planning  T1  asked  Lyle. 

"A  trust  in  steel,  with  a  billion  dollars'  capital,  more 
than  two-thirds  of  which  will  be  water." 

"And  now,"  put  in  Delaval,  "you  see  the  imperial 
nature  of  his  designs.  The  steel  trust  plan  would  be  a 
great  expose  for  our  new  magazine  to  start  with.  But 
we  must  hasten  our  plans." 

Half  an  hour  later,  as  the  two  men  walked  through 
the  crowded  streets  toward  an  elevated  railway  station, 
Lyle,  who  had  been  silent  for  several  blocks,  observed, 
"It  seems  that  we  are  as  pygmies  planning  to  attack  a 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  253 

Titan."  A  moment  later  his  face  brightened,  and  he 
added,  "And  yet,  we  may  fashion  a  dart  that  will 
reach  a  vital  spot." 

"We  have  a  powerful  aid  in  Miss  Hampton,"  said 
Delaval.  "She  knows  some  of  his  most  precious 
secrets.  Her  personal  history  is  most  interesting,  even 
more  so  than  that  of  Miss  Tyler,  who  gave  up  a  fine 
home  and  a  possible  rich  husband  to  live  at  Glacken 
Hall.  Miss  Hampton  gave  up  a  yet  richer  home  and 
refused  a  chance  to  wed  a  British  duke  to  take  a  sec- 
ondary place  at  the  Hall." 

"Did  sorrow  have  anything  to  do  with  it?  I  noticed 
a  band  of  crape  on  her  arm." 

"No.  She  grieved  much  over  her  mother's  death 
last  year,  but  she  was  established  here  before  then." 

"It  seems  strange  that  I  have  never  heard  the  name 
before,"  said  Lyle  as  he  paused  at  a  street  corner  to 
take  leave  of  his  friend.  At  the  same  time  he  was  won- 
dering why  Delaval  had  just  passed,  without  entering, 
a  well  known  French  cafe,  where  he  usually  stopped  to 
get  a  drink. 

"You  have  heard  her  real  name  often,"  Delaval  as- 
sured him,  "but  not  in  relation  to  Glacken  Hall.  She 
is  a  saint  even  more  saintly  than  Miss  Tyler,  for  she 
hides  her  good  deeds  under  an  alias.  I  met  her  while 
attending  an  amateur  dramatic  performance  at  the 
Hall.  I  feel  unworthy  to  touch  the  hem  of  her  gar- 
ment. And  when  such  a  woman  asks  me  to  stop  drink- 
ing and  devote  my  mind  to  writing  a  play  that  will 
live,  don't  you  think  I  should  make  almost  any  sacri- 
fice to  do  either?    I  am  going  to  do  both." 

"I  am  glad,  very  glad,  to  hear  it,  Del.  But  her  real 
name — is  that  a  secret?" 

"To  the  public,  yes.    But  it  need  not  remain  one  be- 


254  THE  AMERICAN   EMPEROR 

tween  us.    You  would  have  to  know  it  soon,  anyhow. 
She  is  Theodora  Gorman." 

"What!    The  daughter  of " 

"The  only  daughter  of  C.  Jefferson  Gorman." 


CHAPTER   TV 

VALET  AND  BUTLER 

"Gawd,  but  the  master's  hin  a  temper  this  morning,'* 
said  Judkins,  the  butler,  stooping  to  pick  up  the  frag- 
ments of  a  statue.  "There  goes  a  big  lot  of  money, 
and  just  because  'e's  in  a  hurry  to  meet  some  one." 

"His  time's  worth  more  than  statues — in  money," 
Pelham,  the  valet,  volunteered  to  say  as  he  appeared  on 
the  scene,  wearing  a  large  opalescent  puff  tie  that  had 
been  discarded  by  his  master.  That  tie  was  fresh  from 
London,  and  it  had  been  thrown  aside  unused  when  one 
end  was  found  slightly  ripped,  a  defect  which,  strangely 
enough,  did  not  appear  until  after  the  valet  opened  the 
box  containing  it  to  hand  it  to  his  master  that  morning. 
However,  Pelham  felt  doubly  important  as  he  paraded 
up  and  down  in  his  new  glory  and  discussed  the 
affluence  of  the  man  he  served.  He  did  not  even  deign 
to  help  collect  the  marble  fragments  which  were  the 
result  of  Gorman's  hasty  trip  down  the  stairs. 

"But  this  statue  was  by  Rodin,  and  cost  ten  thousand, 
and  "e  brought  it  hall  the  way  from  Paris,  'imself," 
Judkins  averred,  as  he  put  the  last  bit  of  marble  in  a 
large  basket,  and  stood  to  contemplate  the  ruin.  "And 
yet  after  'e  runs  up  against  it  'e  don't  even  stop  to  look 
at  the  pieces.  'E  goes  hout  and  jumps  into  'is  new 
French   hauto,   and   says   to   the   chauffeur,   'To   the 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  255 

Himperial  Plasteria,'  'e  says,  'and  be  damned  quick,' 
'e  says." 

"His  new  mistress  is  there,  you  know,"  and  Pelham 
looked  wise  as  he  uttered  this  in  low  tones. 

"What — a  new  one?" 

"Sure.  Haven't  you  heard  of  Mrs.  Lionel  Barton, 
the  woman  who  had  such  a  sensational  divorce  case 
in  high  society  that  a  theatrical  manager  trained  her 
for  the  stage?  And  she  has  talent,  too,  for  the  pas- 
sionate plays.  Well,  the  master's  got  rooms  next  to 
hers  at  the  Imperial  Plasteria." 

"Hi  can  'ardly  believe  it.  And  'im  with  a  new  wife 
that  'e  married  only  a  few  weeks  ago."  Judkins  fairly 
whispered  these  words,  looking  apprehensively  up  the 
stairway  the  while.  "Why,  the  new  Mrs.  Gorman 
would  die  if  she  knew  it.  And  think  of  'er  relatives, 
the  Purdy-'Opkinsons.  What  did  'e  marry  for  at  all — 
that's  what  I'd  like  to  know." 

"Respectability.  He's  got  to  have  some  one  to  go 
to  church  with,  and  sing  hymns  with,  and  receive  dis- 
tinguished people  with,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  you 
see.  And  the  new  Mrs.  Gorman  is  a  pretty  good 
looker,  too,  if  any  one  asks  you — the  stately  kind." 

Pelham,  who  had  once  been  valet  to  an  English  earl, 
prided  himself  not  only  on  his  superior  knowledge  of 
the  world,  but  on  his  ability  to  talk  without  misusing 
the  letter  h.  He  had  studied  some,  and  he  nourished 
secret  aspirations  which,  had  they  been  discovered, 
would  have  surprised  some  persons — aspirations  some- 
what out  of  harmony  with  his  small  stature  and  not 
over  handsome  face. 

"Hi  should  think  the  master  would  'ave  been  all 
broke  hup  by  losin'  his  first  wife,  and  'avin'  his  daugh- 
ter leave  about  the  same  time.    But  'e  recovers  quick." 


256  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

"Well,  you  see,  he  banks  on  his  son,  who  since  he's 
back  from  Heidelberg,  has  took  hold  of  things  like  a 
true  heir  in  his  own  right  to  the  American  kingdom. 
And  say,  it  is  a  kingdom  for  you,  all  right.  Come  up  to 
my  room  as  soon  as  you  can,  and  1*11  show  you  some 
figures  to  prove  it." 

Judkins  carried  the  remains  of  the  statue  to  the  cel- 
lar, and  then  joined  the  valet  in  his  room  at  the  top  of 
the  house.  Pelham  looked  up  from  a  pad  of  paper  as  he 
entered.  "Here's  the  figures/'  he  said.  "I  read  the 
other  day  in  a  magazine  I  saw  in  his  room  that  his 
income  is  about  thirty-two  millions  a  year.  Well,  that's 
more  than  eight  times  what  the  British  royal  family 
gets,  and  yet  he's  scheming  to  add  to  it  all  the  time, 
and  from  what  I've  lately  heard  he's  hardly  begun  to 
do  the  things  he  plans.  But  take  thirty-two  millions : 
That  means  eighty-seven  thousand,  nine  hundred  and 
forty  dollars  a  day.  It's  more  than  sixty-one  dollars 
a  minute — a  dollar  and  six  cents  and  a  fraction  every 
time  that  old  clock  ticks  up  there  on  the  mantel." 

"My  Gawd! — and  'im  objecting  because  'e  thought 
'e  was  paying  for  wine  'e  didn't  drink,  when  the  last 
bills  come  in !" 

"So  you  see,"  Pelham  continued,  "that  statue  won't 
be  much  loss  to  him.  Why,  if  this  house  was  robbed 
of  all  its  furniture  every  night  the  price  of  it  wouldn't 
be  missed.  But  what  I  want  to  know  is,  what's  he  to 
do  with  it  all?" 

"Well,  'e's  buildin'  a  palace  in  London,  and  IVe 
heard  there's  to  be  a  new  one  at  Newport." 

"Oh,  yes,  and  his  new  mistress  has  a  private  car  as 
good  as  his  own,  and  maybe  she'll  have  a  yacht  and  a 
theater,  too." 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  257 

"Jove,  but  that's  like  the  capers  the  kings  cut  up  in 
the  hold  world." 

"Kings?  Why,  no  king  has  got  as  much  money  as 
he  has.  But  listen  :  There's  one  thing  I  heard  the  other 
day  that  I  can't  understand.  A  conference  was  going 
on  in  his  room — but  you'll  keep  this  quiet,  will  you  ? 
If  you  don't,  you  know,  there's  some  wine  bills  and 
other  bills  that  I  know  about ;  but  if  we  work  together, 
we  may  get  rich  from  stock  tips.  Well,  three  or  four 
big  guns  from  Wall  Street  were  there,  and  I  heard  a 
lot  of  talk  about  steel  and  wire  and  bridges  and  cor- 
porations and  charters  and  things,  and  then  New  Jersey 
was  mentioned.  And  then  some  one  says,  'New 
Jerseyll  let  you  do  what  you  want,  Mr.  Gorman,'  and 
he  replies,  'I  know  that,  and  she's  real  handy.'  And 
some  one  else  puts  in :  'Oh,  she's  a  beauty,  Jersey  is, 
and  she'll  be  your  mistress  for  the  asking — provided 
you  fix  it  with  the  Madame  Legislature,'  and  then  they 
all  laughed.     Now,  what  did  they  mean  by  that?" 

"By  Jove,  Hi  wish  Hi  knew.  Maybe  it's  a  secret 
about  the  market." 

"I'm  sure  it  is.  Anyhow,  you  and  I  must  look  sharp 
and  know  what  goes  on  at  the  next  meeting  here. 
There's  big  things  brewing  or  I'm  a  fool.  But  I  can't 
figure  out  just  how  the  master  can  make  a  mistress 
out  of  a  State." 


CHAPTER   V 

NEW    JERSEY 

"If  you  would  learn  of  all  the  ills  that  your  country 
is  heir  to,  follow  me  and  my  legal  friend  here  without 
flinching." 


258  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

Delaval's  smile  as  he  spoke  was  in  keeping  with  his 
words :  half  humorous,  half  sadly  serious.  It  was  a 
wintry  day  in  March  when  he  and  Lyle,  in  company 
with  a  professor  of  law  from  Valehard  University, 
alighted  from  a  train  in  Trenton,  the  capital  of  New 
Jersey.  All  wore  long  overcoats,  and  high  mufflers, 
and  yet  they  shivered  at  times  as  they  were  being  driven 
about  in  an  open  carriage,  for  the  winds  from  off  the 
Delaware  were  raw  and  keen  edged  from  dampness. 

"Yes,"  Professor  Gerald  added,  "you  must  not  flinch, 
either  at  the  truth,  or  at  the  dry-as-dust  legal  phrases 
in  which  it  will  sometimes  be  clothed.  And  above  all 
things,  do  not  hint  at  my  name  or  identity  in  any  part 
of  the  article  ycu  write.  Gorman  has  just  endowed 
Valehard's  research  department  with  another  half 
million,  and  my  position  would  be  forfeited  if  I  were 
suspected  of  aiding  you,  even  with  a  few  legal 
opinions." 

Lyle  pledged  secrecy,  and  then  Delaval  asked  if  it 
was  true  that  Gorman  had  been  given  the  honorary 
degree  of  doctor  of  laws  by  Valehard. 

"It  is  true,"  replied  the  professor,  and  his  tones  were 
tinged  with  bitterness.  "And  he  is  truly  a  doctor  of 
laws,  though  not  in  the  sense  the  degree  implied.  His 
latest  accomplishment  is  the  doctoring  of  all  the  im- 
portant laws  of  this  State.  I  don't  see  what  the  country 
is  coming  to  when  Valehard  and  other  leading  universi- 
ties, which  could  well  afford  to  be  independent,  take 
bribes  in  the  way  of  donations  from  the  very  men  whom 
they  should  teach  their  graduates  to  despise.  At  Vale- 
hard we  already  have  what  the  students  call  Oil  Chapel, 
Sugar  Hall,  and  Railway  Campus,  on  account  of  the 
sources  of  the  gifts.  But  this  honoring  of  Gorman  is 
our  crowning  dishonor." 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  259 

Professor  Gerald  was  past  fifty  years  of  age,  and  his 
critics  were  wont  to  say  that  he  was  old  fashioned  in 
his  ideas  of  ethics.  But  he  was  still  vigorous  of  mind 
and  body,  though  his  hair  and  beard  were  white,  and 
none  knew  better  than  he  the  law  as  it  was,  and  none 
had  clearer  ideas  as  to  the  law  as  it  should  be. 

"Valehard  is  under  suspicion  because  of  its  new  pres- 
ident's attitude  toward  the  railways,  isn't  it?"  asked 
Delaval,  who  was  one  of  its  graduates.  "You  remem- 
ber his  book  on  railways  that  makes  heroes  out  of 
Gorman  and  his  allies?" 

"Yes.  It  was  soon  after  its  publication  that  he  was 
picked  as  the  head  of  Valehard  from  some  small  West- 
ern college.  He  brought  with  him  a  Gorman  endow- 
ment of  half  a  million,  which  made  most  of  the  trus- 
tees willing  to  accept  him.  I  believe  there  are  promises 
of  still  greater  benefactions,  which  will  in  time  make 
Valehard  the  richest  of  American  universities.  He  has 
also  just  been  appointed  on  a  commision  to  devise  new 
railway  laws  and  report  to  Congress.  You  may 
imagine  what  kinds  of  laws  he  will  favor." 

The  carriage  was  driven  over  miles  of  fine  boule- 
vards, and  past  many  stately  dwellings,  in  which  lived 
present  and  former  officials  of  the  State. 

"This  is  the  richest  State  capital  in  the  country,  and 
yet  New  Jersey  is  one  of  the  smallest  States,"  said  the 
professor.  "She  is  called  'one  of  the  brightest  gems 
in  Columbia's  diadem,'  but  she  is  really  just  a  prosti- 
tute. She  is,  however,  a  prolific  prostitute.  And  how 
well  bedecked  she  is !  No  courtesan  ever  sold  her 
charms  with  more  profitable  results.  See  all  these 
macadamized  roads.  She  has  one-third  of  all  such 
roads  in  the  entire  country.     And  observe  these  fine 


260  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

parks,  and  schools,  and  public  libraries.  No  other  State 
has  their  equal.  A  lawyer  whose  office  is  not  far  from 
the  Wall  Street  throne  and  the  officials  of  this  State 
got  together,  and  they  devised  a  wonderful  thing  called 
the  Corporation  Trust  Company.  See  that  tall  build- 
ing on  the  next  corner?  That  is  its  home.  Let  us  see 
what  we  shall  find  there." 

The  marble  rotunda  of  the  building  was  much  like 
that  of  many  a  New  York  "skyscraper."  From  the 
rotunda  they  stepped  into  one  of  a  half  dozen  elevators, 
and  were  taken  to  the  tenth  floor. 

This  entire  floor  and  the  floor  above  were  used  as  the 
"headquarters"  of  fifteen  hundred  companies  doing  an 
interstate  business.  A  multitude  of  signs  were  dis- 
played— one  for  each  company.  The  great  central 
company,  officered  by  State  officials,  furnished  to  each 
a  resident  secretary  and  a  director,  whose  sole  business 
was  to  keep  the  records.  A  branch  office  of  the  head 
concern  was  maintained  in  Wall  Street  to  solicit 
business. 

After  looking  into  a  few  of  the  offices,  all  of  which 
had  a  monotonous  resemblance  to  each  other,  the  vis- 
itors descended  to  the  street,  dismissed  their  carriage, 
and  started  to  walk  toward  the  Capitol. 

"Just  how  does  the  State  profit,  Professor  Gerald?" 
asked  Lyle,  as  they  walked  along.  "That  is  one  of  the 
main  points  which  I  wish  to  bring  out  when  I  write  the 
article  for  our  new  magazine  on  'The  Traitor  State.'  " 

"She  has  a  scale  of  prices,"  was  the  response.  "Any- 
one may  obtain  from  her  a  charter  to  do  almost  any- 
thing under  heaven  by  paying  a  tax  of  one  dollar  for 
each  thousand  of  capital,  real  or  imaginary,  up  to  three 
millions,  and  beyond  three  millions,  fifty  cents  a  thou- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  261 

sand.  There  is  no  limit.  Promoters  of  all  kinds  of 
fraudulent  concerns  flock  here  from  every  part  of  the 
country.  Soon  every  floor  of  that  building  will  be  given 
up  to  their  'headquarters.'  This  State's  debts  have  been 
wiped  out,  and  her  citizens  no  longer  have  any  direct 
taxes  to  pay." 

"And  now  tell  us  what  her  charters  mean  to  the  rest 
of  the  country  ?" 

The  professor  gave  him  a  mass  of  facts,  and  then, 
as  they  walked  up  to  the  State  House,  he  continued: 

"You  will  want  to  know  in  plain  language  just  what 
all  this  means.  It  means  that  a  promoter  can  form  a 
company  with  an  apparent  capital  of  millions  or  of 
even  a  billion,  but  with  scarcely  any  real  capital ;  that 
he  can  issue  bonds  of  the  nature  of  a  first  mortgage 
on  the  company's  property  for  as  large  a  sum  in  addi- 
tion ;  that  he  can  then  create  preferred  stock  for  as 
great  an  amount  besides,  the  common  stock  repre- 
senting the  original  billion.  And  then  he  may  sell  all 
of  these  stocks  and  bonds  that  the  market  will  take,  and 
still  control  the  company.  In  yet  simpler  words,  it 
means  that  the  nation  is  helpless  against  the  trusts, 
and  that  the  stockholders  are  helpless  against  the 
promoters." 

"And  that,"  said  Delaval,  "is  how  Gorman  is 
planning  to  organize  his  steel  trust.  And  when  it  is 
launched  upon  its  sea  of  water  it  may  be  compared 
with  an  invulnerable  battleship  which  can  destroy  all 
other  craft,  while  the  crew  themselves  are  at  the  mercy 
of  its  despotic  commander." 

"An  excellent  simile,"  commented  the  professor, 
and  continued  talking  as  they  stood  at  the  top  of  the 
State  House  steps  overlooking  the  town:     "Gorman 


262  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

and  his  allies  could  never  do  a  respectable  fraction  of 
their  deeds  under  any  European  government.  We  have 
eight  times  as  many  corporations  as  Great  Britain, 
France  and  Germany  combined,  and  our  total  capital- 
ization is  about  thirty-three  billions,  not  including 
bonds,  which  represent  as  much  more.  Does  it  make 
your  brain  reel?  It  is  making  the  republic  itself  reel 
like  a  drunkard,  with  all  this  poisonous  watered  stock 
in  her  veins.  And  now  another  billion  or  more  is  to  be 
added  by  one  man  at  one  sweep.    It  is  appalling." 

They  entered  the  gallery  of  the  House,  and  sat  down 
to  rest  while  they  watched  the  proceedings.  In  a 
droning  voice  the  clerk  read  the  bills  as  they  were 
presented,  and  the  members  lolled  in  their  seats,  smok- 
ing cigars,  or  chatting,  or  making  notes  on  pads  of 
paper  or  the  margins  of  newspapers.  In  the  Speaker's 
chair  sat  a  man  whose  brow  was  low,  and  whose  neck 
was  red,  and  across  whose  colored  waistcoat  hung  an 
enormous  gold  watch  chain. 

"See  those  torn  battle  flags,  and  those  ancient  swords 
over  the  Speaker's  desk?"  Delaval  asked.  "They  were 
captured  by  Washington  and  his  troops  from  the 
Hessians  after  crossing  the  Delaware.  At  the  time  the 
trust  laws  were  passed  the  Speaker,  who  had  been  a 
starter  on  a  race  track,  put  the  bills  through  so  fast 
that  his  office  was  called  'the  startership.'  The  laws 
were  all  passed  at  an  eighteen-hour  session,  and  it  was 
midnight  when  the  last  one  went  through  with  a  whoop. 
Then  followed  an  orgy.  Cases  of  champagne  were 
opened,  songs  were  sung,  and  female  prostitutes  sat  on 
the  knees  of  the  legislative  prostitutes,  or  danced  madly 
upon  their  desks.  One  of  them  kicked  a  hole  through 
that  largest  battle  flag." 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  263 

Professor  Gerald  had  been  sitting  in  serious  medita- 
tion while  E>elaval  talked,  and  now  he  spoke  slowly, 
and  in  melancholy  tones.  "No  stronger  argument 
against  the  weakness  of  the  American  system  could  be 
imagined  than  this,"  he  said.  "All  State  lines  should 
be  abolished.  As  a  chain  is  no  stronger  than  its 
weakest  link,  so  the  nation  is  no  stronger  than  its 
weakest  State. 

"Why  are  these  things  possible?  Because  of  court 
decisions  that  should  never  have  been  rendered.  The 
courts  have  too  much  power — power  arbitrarily  as- 
sumed. They  have  decided  that  Congress,  in  pro- 
hibiting trade  combinations,  meant  only  the  joining 
of  separate  and  distinct  concerns.  But  these  com- 
panies, the  judges  hold,  may  sell  their  plants,  or  their 
railroads,  or  anything  else,  to  a  new  corporation, 
formed  in  any  State,  and  such  sales  are  not  'interstate 
commerce.'  Oh,  the  hollow  mockery,  the  hypocrisy  of 
it!  There  is  not  a  steel  mill  in  New  Jersey,  yet  see 
what  powers  she  is  granting  to  Gorman  over  the  steel 
industry  of  the  entire  country !" 

"Were  you  not  telling  me  the  other  day,  professor," 
Delaval  asked,  "that  one  of  the  federal  Supreme  Court 
judges  was  worth  a  million  and  a  half,  though  he  was 
a  poor  man  before  his  appointment?" 

"Yes,  and  at  least  one  of  the  others  has  become 
rich  in  a  few  years.  He  has  been  called  'Private 
Car  Jones,'  because  the  railroads  always  furnish  him 
with  a  special  car  for  his  pleasure  trips." 

"Can  this  be  true?"  asked  Lyle.  "I  can  hardly  be- 
lieve it.     It  is  terrifying." 

"There  are  more  surprising  and  terrible  things  still 
ahead  of  us,"  Delaval  reminded  him,  "for  we  have 
yet  to  explore  Wall  Street. 


264  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

CHAPTER  VI 

PIRATES  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  SEAS 

Delaval  was  leaning  against  the  rail  of  a  steam 
yacht  as  he  talked  to  Lyle  and  his  wife,  and  to  Theo- 
dora Gorman,  whose  guests  they  all  were.  His  hearers 
were  seated  on  the  deck  before  him.  It  was  a  per- 
fect spring  morning,  and  as  yet  the  sun's  rays  had 
not  become  so  genial  as  to  force  them  to  retire  under 
the  awning  that  was  stretched  over  the  deck's  other 
side. 

The  yacht  was  moving  slowly  past  a  palm  fringed 
isle  in  the  Caribbean,  and  so  close  to  it  that  the  cries 
of  parrakeets  could  be  heard,  and  at  times  through 
the  morning  mist  their  brilliant  plumage  could  be 
glimpsed  as  they  flew  from  tree  to  tree. 

This  was  the  Siren's  third  day  out.  The  yacht  had 
been  loaned  to  "Miss  Hampton"  for  a  month  by  a 
wealthy  young  widow,  who  had  gone  abroad.  Delaval 
and  Lyle  had  been  working  so  hard  in  establishing 
their  magazine  that  when  Theodora  had  offered  to 
take  them  on  a  fortnight's  cruise  they  both  welcomed 
the  chance  for  such  recreation.  Mercedes  knew  the 
real  name  of  their  hostess,  although  Theodora  had 
not  known  her  previous  to  this  cruise. 

"Won't  you  recite  us  some  more  of  Byron?"  asked 
Theodora,  and  after  Delaval  had  responded  with 
several  stanzas  from  "The  Bride  of  Abydos,"  she  said : 
"I  could  listen  to  his  poems  all  day.  Byron  was  more 
Greek  than  English." 

"I  agree  with  Del  that  the  isles  of  Greece  could 
hardly  be  more  beautiful  than  these  about  us,"  said 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  265 

Lyle.  "And  now  won't  you  tell  us  something  of  the 
history  of  the  buccaneers,  who  cut  up  capers  in  this 
vicinity  ?" 

"Yes,  do,"  the  ladies  pleaded  together.  Miss  Tyler, 
of  Glacken  Hall,  and  Professor  Gerald,  of  Valehard, 
now  came  on  deck  and  joined  the  group.  All  listened 
eagerly  while  Delaval  talked,  for  his  conversation  was 
often  charming  alike  to  men  and  to  women. 

"In  the  tropics  all  life  is  more  colorful,"  he  began ; 
"and  these  islands,  surrounded  as  they  are  by  seas  of 
liquid  sapphire,  and  domed  by  a  sky  of  luminous  tur- 
quoise, surpass  in  beauty  even  the  mainland.  Tropical 
birds  are  gayer  in  plumage,  sea  shells  have  more  light 
and  variety  of  hue,  ferns  grow  more  riotously,  and 
palms  are  many  times  higher  than  in  the  colder  climes. 
The  tops  of  those  trees  on  the  shores  we  are  leaving 
must  be  at  least  two  hundred  feet  from  the  ground. 
In  the  tropics,  too,  the  stars  shine  more  brightly  at 
night,  and  by  day  the  kisses  of  the  sun  are  more 
amorous,  and  maids  mature  more  quickly  and,  like 
the  flowers,  bloom  more  voluptuously  than  in  temper- 
ate zones.  And  all  human  passions — of  love,  hate, 
avarice,  revenge — are  more  easily  aroused,  and  are 
to  be  regarded  with  greater  tolerance  than  among  us. 
Thus  may  be  explained  many  of  the  vendettas  in  south- 
ern countries.  And  thus  also  may  be  explained,  and 
in  part  excused,  the  piracy  that  once  flourished  on 
these  very  seas,  where  'all  save  the  spirit  of  man  is 
divine.'  " 

Here  Delaval  paused  to  remark  that  the  sun's  rays 
were  becoming  too  amorous  for  him,  and  at  Theodora's 
suggestion  all  moved  under  the  awning,  and  stewards 
brought  lemonade.  When  all  were  comfortably  seated 
the  ensemble  made  a  pretty  picture :  the  women  in 


266  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

white  serge,  with  flaring  sailor  collars  and  large  blue 
ties,  the  men  in  light  flannel  suits  and  white  yacht- 
ing caps.  All  wore  cool  looking  canvas  shoes,  and 
every  costume  was  immaculate.  Delaval,  after  sip- 
ping his  lemonade  with  as  much  relish  as  though  it 
was  the  finest  champagne,  resumed: 

"Late  in  the  sixteenth  century  there  were  founded 
in  San  Domingo  and  other  West  Indian  islands, 
colonies  of  French  and  English  adventurers,  whose 
business  was  to  'boucaner,'  or  cure  beef  by  smoking  it, 
and  then  to  sell  the  meat,  or  exchange  it  for  other 
products  in  the  seaport  towns.  Spain  made  oppressive 
rules  against  them  and  they  combined  to  oppose  her. 
Beginning  as  unrestricted  traders,  they  ended  as 
pirates. 

"After  several  rich  prizes  had  been  sailed  into  San 
Domingo,"  he  added,  after  giving  the  early  history 
of  the  pirates,  "they  organized  for  business  on  a  large 
scale.  They  were  soon  attacking  the  Spanish  galleons. 
They  they  fortified  seaports  and  defied  governments. 
They  had  begun  as  haphazard  plunderers,  ragged  and 
desperate,  wearing  little  more  than  trousers  soaked  in 
the  blood  of  cattle,  and  wielding  only  crude  weapons. 
But  as  their  rags  were  replaced  by  silk  and  velvet 
coats  and  ornamented  knee-breeches,  they  thought 
more  of  themselves  and  of  their  profession.  They 
formed  a  government  of  their  own,  and  adopted  rules 
of  conduct,  and  established  a  code  of  ethics — and 
they  lived  up  to  the  code,  too." 

"They  had  slaves  to  wait  on  them,  didn't  they?" 
Lyle  inquired. 

"Yes,  after  they  became  prosperous,  most  of  them 
had  body  servants,  distinguished  by  scarlet  scarfs 
about  their  heads.     Oh,  they  were  a  picturesque  lot." 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  267 

"I  have  read  somewhere  that  they  were  chivalrous 
also,"  said  Mercedes,  who  was  following  the  story 
with  great  interest. 

"That  is  true.  A  captain  had  to  be  valorous,  and 
when  besides  he  knew  how  to  charm  the  ladies  he 
was  even  more  respected  among  his  crew.  There  was 
a  Monsieur  Raveneau  de  Lussan,  who  retired  from 
buccaneering  and  wrote  a  book  about  it  He  tells 
of  how  he  wore  a  hat  with  a  plume  and  had  a  jeweled 
sword.  After  looting  a  Venezuelan  port  he  went  to 
church  to  give  thanks.  A  Spanish  lady,  the  widow 
of  the  town  treasurer,  who  had  been  killed  in  the 
siege,  met  him  there  and  invited  him  to  her  home. 
She  was  so  charmed  with  him  that  she  desired  to 
marry  him.  But  he  sailed  away  without  her.  He 
could  not  bear  the  thought  of  permitting  a  refined 
lady  to  share  the  terrors  of  his  life." 

"But  to  think  of  his  giving  thanks  in  church!" 
commented  Miss  Tyler.     "It  seems  grotesque." 

"Oh,  that  was  a  custom  among  them,"  Delaval  as- 
sured her.  "There  was  a  rule  that  no  crew  should 
get  drunk  after  a  successful  cruise  until  thanks  had 
been  declared  for  the  'dew  of  heaven/  And  no  fleet 
ever  put  to  sea  without  church  services.  A  French 
captain  shot  one  of  his  men  for  irreverence  at  a  mass." 

"Religion !  Oh,  Religion,  what  crimes  are  done  in 
thy  name!"  from  Professor  Gerald. 

"Their  plunder  was  often  rich  and  varied,"  con- 
tined  the  historian.  "Besides  the  gold  of  the  Incas, 
and  the  Spanish  doubloons  from  treasure  ships,  there 
were  jars  of  civet  and  of  ambergris,  boxes  of  marma- 
lade and  spices,  sacks  of  chocolate  and  vanilla,  me- 
dicinal   gums    from    Nicaragua,    and    rolls    of   green 


268  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

cloth  and  pale  blue  cotton  which  the  Indians  wove 
in  Peru ;  heavy  carved  furniture,  and  paintings  by 
Spanish  masters ;  casks  of  rare  wine  from  Andalusia's 
mellow  vineyards,  and  bottles  of  cordials  in  delicately 
cut  green  glass ;  swords  with  jeweled  handles,  silver 
mounted  pistols,  daggers  chased  and  inlaid,  and 
watches  and  ancient  necklaces  from  Spain ;  packets  of 
emeralds  from  Brazil,  and  bezoar  stones  from  Pata- 
gonia  " 

"If  you  keep  on,"  interjected  the  professor,  "I'll  feel 
like  turning  pirate  myself.  And  in  the  distance  yon- 
der I  think  I  see  even  now  a  Spanish  galleon.  Sup- 
pose we  sail  over  and  attack  her?  What  do  you 
make  her  out  to  be,  captain  ?"  to  the  commander  of  the 
yacht,  who  had  just  approached. 

"I  should  say  she's  a  large  steam  yacht,  about 
twice  the  size  of  this  one,  sir/'  replied  the  captain, 
after  a  look  through  his  binoculais. 

"Then  I  prefer  to  wait  for  a  smaller  boat,"  said 
the  professor. 

"You  would  never  have  qualified  as  a  member  of 
Morgan's  crew,"  Delaval  told  him,  while  the  others 
laughed  at  his  change  of  front.  "He  and  the  other 
chiefs  often  led  their  forces  against  tremendous  odds, 
and  if  any  one  showed  cowardice  he  was  tied  to  the 
mast  and  shot,  or  mutilated  and  put  ashore.  Bravery 
was  always  rewarded,  too.  Sometimes  a  prisoner's 
heart  would  be  cut  out  and  eaten  without  salt  to  bind 
an  oath." 

"How  terrible!"  cried  Theodora.  "And  Morgan, 
who  was  afterward  knighted — did  he  do  such  things, 
too?" 

"There  was  hardly  anything  that  he  did  not  do, 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  269 

for  he  was  the  greatest  buccaneer  of  them  all.  He 
organized  the  first  pirates'  trust,  and  got  away  with 
most  of  the  dividends.  And  after  several  years,  hav- 
ing all  the  riches  he  desired,  Morgan  sought  respect- 
ability and  honor.  He  settled  in  Jamaica,  where  he 
was  made  deputy  governor,  and  afterward  King 
Charles  made  him  a  knight  for  helping  to  put  down 
piracy."' 

"The  villain !"  said  Miss  Tyler.  "And  did  he  keep 
his  word  this  time?" 

"Yes,  for  the  fewer  pirates  remaining  the  safer  was 
he  in  his  wealth  and  honors.  And  after  his  time  the 
profession  rapidly  declined." 

"He  was  certainly  a  genius  in  the  way  he  got  the 
promoters'  share  of  the  dividends,"  commented  Pro- 
fessor Gerald,  "but  he  had  courage  of  a  higher  order 
than  our  financial  pirates  possess." 

All  had  been  so  interested  in  Delaval's  discourse 
that  they  had  not  noticed  the  near  approach  of  the 
other  yacht  But  now  she  loomed  up  plainly  less 
than  a  mile  away.  The  captain,  at  the  opposite  rail, 
had  been  observing  her  through  his  glasses. 

"Shall  I  speak  her,  Miss  Hampton?''  he  asked, 
coming  up  at  this  moment.  "I  can  make  out  her 
name  plainly,  and  besides  I  recognize  her  colors.  As 
the  owner  is  now  the  head  of  the  American  Yacht 
Club  we  will  have  to  salute  if  she  comes  much  closer." 

"Who  is  she  T*  asked  Theodora. 

"The  Buccaneer,  madam,  and  it  looks  like  the  com- 
modore himself  was  aboard.     I " 

"By  no  means  speak  that  craft  P*  and  Theodora  rose 
in  her  agitation.  "Put  on  full  speed  and  go  in  any 
other  direction,"  she  added  as,  accepting  Ddaval's 
arm,  she  walked  toward  her  stateroom. 


270  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE   CRUISE   OF  THE   BUCCANEER 

Aboard  the  Buccaneer  that  morning  was  a  different 
kind  of  company.  The  majestic  yacht  had  been  away 
from  port  for  more  than  a  week,  and  now  her  steel 
nose  was  turned  homeward  again.  Both  business  and 
pleasure  were  the  objects  of  this  particular  cruise,  but 
at  this  stage  of  her  master's  career,  pleasure  had  al- 
ways to  be  subordinated. 

He  was  busy  to-day,  as  he  had  been  every  day  of 
the  voyage,  conferring  in  his  cabin  or  in  his  state- 
room with  his  aids.  His  new  wife  and  several  of  her 
feminine  friends  were  seated  under  an  awning  on  the 
main  deck,  chatting  or  sipping  cool  drinks.  The  soft- 
est of  Persian  rugs  were  under  their  feet  and  they 
drank  from  Sevres  china  cups  or  from  gilded  glass- 
ware. Stewards  in  livery  of  blue  and  gold  waited 
upon  them  and  sailors  in  natty  uniforms  holystoned  the 
almost  spotless  deck  some  distance  away,  or  polished 
the  already  gleaming  brass  rails,  while  officers  in  white 
duck  walked  the  decks  at  respectful  distances  and 
gave  orders  in  subdued  tones. 

The  second  Mrs.  Gorman,  who  was  holding  court 
in  the  center  of  an  admiring  group,  was  a  solid  per- 
son of  eminently  respectable  appearance.  "Oh,  what 
a  beautiful  sight!"  she  suddenly  exclaimed.  "See 
those  giant  palms,  and  those  gorgeous  birds,  and  that 
lovely  white  beach  with  the  perfect  blue  sky  above. 
What  a  paradise!  Do  tell  us  what  island  that  is," 
turning  to  the  captain,  who  had  just  come  from  the 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  271 

bridge  after  directing  the  steersman  how  to  avoid 
some  charted  reefs. 

"That?  Oh,  that's  Jamaica,"  he  replied.  "And 
after  we  go  a  little  to  the  northeast  we'll  be  in  sight 
of  Port  Royal,  where  the  buccaneers  had  a  sort  of 
headquarters.  Strange  that  this  yacht  happens  to  be 
named  after  'em,"  and  the  captain  laughed.  He  was 
bewhiskered,  middle  aged  and  whole  souled,  though 
not  handsome.  Gorman  did  not  choose  his  officers 
for  their  good  looks. 

"The  buccaneers?"  repeated  Mrs.  Gorman.  "Oh, 
they  were  the  pirates,  weren't  they?" 

"Yes,  and  a  bloody  lot  they  were,  too." 

"Why,  did  they  really  kill  human  bein's?"  asked 
Mrs.  Dobbs,  of  Pittsburgh.  Her  person  glittered  with 
jewels  if  her  speech  did  not. 

"They  surely  did,  when  the  people  didn't  give  up 
their  money,  and  sometimes  anyhow." 

"And  was  they  white  people — the  pirates,  I  mean?" 

"Yes,  indeed,  Mrs.  Dobbs — most  of  them,  though 
many  of  them  had  negro  slaves  who  were  made  to 
help  them  rob  people.  Why,  it  was  almost  a  respect- 
able business  in  those  days.  One  of  the  leaders  was 
afterwards  made  a  knight,"  and  he  tipped  his  cap  and 
walked  hurriedly  away  to  give  an  order. 

Just  then  Gorman,  and  the  heavy-faced  Burton,  and 
the  lean  and  suave  Bronson,  who  had  been  tempor- 
arily withdrawn  from  the  President's  cabinet,  came 
down  from  the  master's  cabin  on  the  upper  deck.  They 
were  followed  by  a  ponderous,  coarse  featured  man, 
one  August  Dobbs,  the  destined  head  of  the  steel 
trust,  and  after  him  came  a  man  with  hard,  steel-gray 
eyes  and  a  sparse  beard.     He  was  known  in  New 


272  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

York's  financial  district  as  "Old  Charley"  Stine,  "the 
best  manipulator  in  the  Street."  The  five  men  were 
still  talking  earnestly  together  as  they  entered  the 
companionway  leading  to  Gorman's  stateroom.  They 
seemed  to  have  no  eyes  for  the  tropic  loveliness  that 
was  spread  in  chromatic  splendor  before  them. 

"I  tell  you  the  public  are  hungry  for  it,"  Gorman 
was  saying.     "They  will  grab  the  common  at  fifty." 

"I'm  afraid  we  can't  sell  half  of  it,"  Stine  demurred, 
"unless  the  backing  is  stiff  enough." 

"It'll  be  the  damndest  stiffest  thing  ever  known  in 
the  Street,"  was  the  reply.  "Our  own  pool's  money, 
and  the  railroad  funds,  and  the  biggest  banks,  and 
then  the  insurance  companies'  reserves,  which  no  other 
crowd  has  yet  got  behind  them.  It  was  not  for  noth- 
ing that  I  took  Bunkins  from  the  Knickerbocker  Life, 
made  him  a  junior  partner  in  my  office,  and  doubled 
his  income.  He's  still  treasurer  of  the  Knickerbocker 
and  can  rule  its  board  of  directors,  though  for  the 
sake  of  appearance  he  doesn't  have  his  office  there  any 
more." 

"And  when  we  say  the  word,"  added  Bronson,  "it 
will  be  announced  in  Washington  that  the  navy  is  to  be 
doubled.  That  will  make  every  one  want  stock,  for 
the  country  is  navy-mad  since  the  war." 

As  they  all  disappeared  down  the  companionway 
Mrs.  Dobbs  looked  toward  the  harbor  of  Port  Royal, 
now  dimly  visible  to  the  north.  "My,  but  I'm  glad 
there  ain't  any  pirates  these  days — such  awful  peo- 
ple!" she  said,  and  shuddered,  although  the  tempera- 
ture was  eighty  degrees  in  the  awning's  shade  where 
she  sat. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  273 

CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    FORWARD    MAGAZINE    IS    FOUNDED 

The  war  with  Spain  delayed  both  the  schemes  of 
Gorman  and  the  plans  of  his  opponents.  Investors 
would  not  buy  stocks  while  the  drums  of  battle  were 
sounding,  and  neither  Lyle  nor  Delaval  could  stay  in 
New  York  when  there  was  so  much  going  on  in  other 
directions.  Lyle  went  to  the  front  as  a  correspondent ; 
his  friend  served  as  an  officer  in  a  Virginia  regiment. 
And  when  the  "toy  war,"  as  they  called  it,  was  ended, 
and  the  trusts  had  begun  to  exploit  the  new  colonies, 
they  returned  to  their  former  activities  and  plans.  At 
the  same  time  Gorman,  launching  his  steel  trust  on  a 
wave  of  reawakened  national  energy  such  as  usually 
follows  a  successful  war,  was  about  to  seize  upon  the 
most  stupendous  golden  loot  in  all  the  history  of  finan- 
cial buccaneering. 

Delaval's  estimate  of  seventy-five  thousand  dollars 
as  the  sum  necessary  to  start  the  Forward  Magazine 
proved  too  low,  and  a  year  or  more  passed  before  the 
first  number  was  printed.  At  the  end  of  the  maga- 
zine's first  year  the  receipts  were  far  less  than  the 
expenses,  although  the  founders  would  accept  no  more 
than  two  thousand  each  in  salary.  Both  had  continued 
working  for  newspapers  until  a  few  weeks  before  the 
first  copy  of  the  Forward  was  actually  issued,  so  as  not 
to  burden  the  stockholders  with  their  support  sooner 
than  was  actually  necessary.  At  the  end  of  the  second 
year  the  magazine  was  becoming  involved  in  debt. 

Lyle  had  put  in  twenty  thousand  of  his  own  and 


274  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

Mercedes'  money,  Theodora  Gorman  had  contributed 
ten  thousand  of  the  funds  left  her  by  her  mother's 
will,  and  Delaval  had  raised  ten  thousand  on  his 
family's  estate  in  the  South.  The  balance  was  fur- 
nished by  Samuel  S.  Burke,  business  manager  of  an 
evening  paper,  who  had  been  interested  in  the  scheme 
by  Delaval,  and  who  was  appointed  manager  of  adver- 
tising. 

"Sometimes  I  think  Burke  is  just  an  adventurer," 
Delaval  said  to  Lyle  one  morning  as  they  sat  in  their 
editorial  office,  which  overlooked  a  pleasant  parkway. 
"He's  from  Dublin,  you  know,  and  he  seems  to  be  like 
many  of  the  Irish  journalists  and  magazineists  who 
have  blossomed  out  in  this  town.  And  yet,"  he  added, 
"there  are  indications  that  he  is  genuinely  in  favor  of 
reform.  He  gave  up  a  bigger  salary  to  take  his 
chances  with  us.  He  insisted,  though,  on  having  en- 
tire charge  of  the  business  office,  and  I  don't  like  some 
of  the  advertising  he  takes.  Gorman's  agents,  after 
some  of  our  articles  began  to  appear,  offered  him  a 
lot  of  telephone  and  railway  ads.,  and  he  refused  none. 
'Let's  fight  the  devil  with  his  own  fire/  he  said  when 
I  remonstrated  with  him.  Of  course  it's  not  bribery, 
and  it  won't  affect  our  policy,  but  it  looks  bad." 

"We  must  vote  at  our  next  stockholders'  meeting 
to  stop  it,"  Lyle  replied.  "And  as  to  more  backing, 
rest  easy.  I  have  some  thousands  left,  but  we  won't 
need  that  money,  for  Professor  Gerald  writes  me  that 
he  and  several  professors  at  Valehard  and  other  uni- 
versities have  got  together  secretly  and  agreed  to  take 
twenty  thousand  in  stock  among  themselves.  They 
will  occasionally  write  articles  for  us  without  pay 
besides." 

"With  the  funds  raised  by  reform  Congressmen,  that 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  275 

will  make  thirty  to  forty  thousand  more,"  said  Delaval, 
hopefully.  "Thus  we  won't  have  to  think  of  a  popular 
sale  of  stock.  There  has  been  jugglery  in  such  sales 
by  other  magazines,  and  yet  Burke  says  he  favors  that 
plan  of  raising  more  money  for  us.  We  will  have  to 
watch  him." 

"Fortunately  we  have  the  right  kind  of  an  editor 
in  Sanford,"  Lyle  rejoined.  They  were  talking  in  low 
tones,  for  Burke  and  Sanford  were  in  the  next  room, 
which  was  separated  from  them  by  only  a  thin  par- 
tition. "He's  had  twenty  years'  experience  in  news- 
paper work,  and  never  was  there  a  breath  of  suspicion 
against  him,  so  far  as  I  could  learn.  Besides,  he  is 
kindly  and  considerate  of  every  one,  from  Burke  to 
the  office  boy  and  the  janitress,  and  he  seems  incapable 
of  using  a  harsh  word  even  to  the  lowliest  contributor 
of  impossible  poems.  At  Christmas  time  he  receives 
hundreds  of  letters  from  all  over  the  country,  written 
by  grateful  people  to  whom  he  has  said  kind  words, 
either  in  correspondence  or  in  person,  at  different  times 
in  the  past.  And  old  maids  and  grandmothers  deluge 
him  with  sofa  pillows  and  pin  cushions  made  by  their 
own  hands.  He  is  a  fine  old  man,  besides  being  an 
honest  editor." 

"Well,  he  may  be,  but  I  can't  feel  much  respect  for 
anyone  who  could  stay  in  journalism  for  twenty  years 
and  never  write  his  own  opinion  on  anything,"  and 
Delaval  pursed  his  lips  thoughtfully.  "You  see,  it 
means  that  he  has  been  content  to  be  an  intellectual 
nonentity,  not  to  use  a  harsher  term.  I've  known 
others  who  were  intellectual  lackeys  until  they  got  a 
chance  to  be  profitably  corrupt,  and  almost  invariably 
they  accepted  such  chances.     I'm  afraid  he  may  have 


276  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

the  soul  of  a  lackey,  and  a  lackey's  soul  is  an  unclean 
soul  in  a  white  man." 

"I  fear  you're  relapsing  into  cynicism,  Del,"  and 
Lyle  laughed  at  the  other's  peculiar  reasoning.  "It  is 
true  that  he  seems  to  have  no  opinions  of  his  own, 
however,  and  he  appears  not  to  like  to  discuss  vital 
problems  unless  they  relate  to  the  magazine's  policy, 
and  then  he  talks  of  them  only  in  that  connection.  I 
was  told  by  our  stenographer  the  other  day  that  he 
referred  to  me  as  'loquacious'  because  I  had  sought  to 
exchange  views  with  him  about  Wall  Street." 

"And  I  don't  like  the  articles  he  sometimes  accepts,'' 
Delaval  went  on.  "There  was  one  called  'The  Many 
Uses  of  Steel/  and  another  entitled  'The  Romance  of 
Copper.'  Now  at  this  particular  time,  when  steel  and 
copper  trusts  are  being  formed,  such  articles  will  in- 
fluence people  to  buy  stocks,  and  that  is  precisely  what 
we  want  to  teach  the  public  not  to  do." 

"I  never  thought  of  that.  We  must  take  the  sub- 
ject up  at  our  next  meeting.  Sanford  seems  to  know, 
though,  just  what  the  people  want  in  fiction." 

"Ah,  yes,  too  well  ever  to  make  the  Forward  a  great 
literary  magazine,"  said  Delaval  gloomily.  He  was 
an  idealist  in  art  as  Lyle  was  in  the  affairs  of  real 
life,  and  he  hated  to  see  the  magazine  filled  with  fic- 
tion mechanically  written  to  appeal  to  provincial 
minds.  "But  I  admit  that  his  policy  in  fiction  should 
prevail  if  we  are  to  make  the  Forward  a  power  among 
the  people.  To  get  the  popular  support  we  must 
pander  to  their  tastes  in  some  ways  at  least.  We  must 
publish  fiction  by  the  best  known  writers,  and  pay 
fifty  cents  a  word  for  it,  and  advertise  it  on  billboards, 
no  matter  how  poor  the  stories  may  be.  All  love 
stories  must  end  happily,  and  more  important  still, 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  277 

we  must  print  slushy  articles  about  royal  and  noble 
persons,  and  illustrate  them  with  pictures  in  colors 
of  knights  and  ladies  and  other  stately  personages  in 
gorgeous  palaces.  Yes,  Sanford  knows  his  business 
in  printing  that  kind  of  stuff,  but  don't  tell  me  that  he 
can  have  high  ideals  and  be  so  willing  to  do  it." 

"After  we  get  on  a  paying  basis  we  will  have  more 
time  to  take  direct  charge  of  all  manuscripts,"  Lyle 
assured  him.  "Meanwhile  you  and  I  are  too  busily 
occupied  by  investigating  and  writing.  And  to-mor- 
row, remember,  we  are  to  go  to  the  Stock  Exchange." 

"Yes,  we  must  soon  attack  the  greatest  dragon  of 
them  all.  It  may  be  that  we  will  only  break  our  lances 
against  its  scales,  but  the  sooner  we  start  the  fight  the 
better." 

Lyle  left  him  writing  an  article  about  loose  bank- 
ing laws,  and  went  out  to  a  nearby  restaurant  to  lunch. 
As  he  walked  down  the  corridor  of  the  office  he  heard 
the  door  of  Sanford's  room  open,  and  these  words,  in 
Burke's  voice,  though  low  spoken,  came  distinctly  to 
his  ears,  "Oh,  we  can  work  it  on  them,  never  fear." 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   STOCK    EXCHANGE 

Delaval,  Lyle  and  a  middle  aged  man  stood  at  the 
corner  of  Wall  and  Broad  streets,  before  the  Federal 
Sub-Treasury,  on  a  spring  morning.  They  were  almosl 
in  the  shadow  of  Washington's  statue,  which  marks 
the  center  of  New  York's  financial  district.  Massive 
buildings  towered  ten  to  thirty  stories  on  every  side. 


278  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

Here  and  there,  crowded  between  these,  and  seeming 
to  struggle  for  place,  were  smaller,  older  and  plainer 
buildings.  The  general  effect  was  that  of  serrated 
architectural  canons,  their  depths  gloomy  and  sunless, 
and  roaring  at  times  with  rivers  of  traffic. 

"Yes,"  said  the  middle  aged  man  in  reply  to  a  re- 
mark by  Lyle,  "these  stock  manipulators  will  kill 
the  country  if  the  country  doesn't  check  them.  If  you 
gentlemen  could  see  in  one  year  the  things  I  see  in  one 
week  you  would  feel  sure  of  that." 

The  man  was  Henry  Jackson,  a  broker's  assistant, 
and  his  speech  was  as  plain  as  his  name.  His  face 
might  once  have  been  plain  also,  or  it  might  have 
been  handsome,  but  its  early  lineaments  were  gone 
with  its  youthful  bloom.  It  was  now  lined  and  seared 
until  it  resembled  a  school  map  made  in  plastic  ma- 
terial, a  map  in  which  were  shown  many  rivers  and 
gullies  and  mountain  ranges,  but  no  fair  pampas  or 
smoothly  rolling  uplands.  Twenty  years  in  the  scoriae 
atmosphere  of  Wall  Street  had  moulded  his  face  to  the 
unbeautiful  thing  it  now  was.  Even  when  he  smiled 
Jackson  could  not  look  attractive.  Rather,  his  smile 
was  like  the  grin  of  a  gargoyle. 

"I  wish  I  had  got  into  some  other  business  when 
I  was  young,"  he  added.  "But  now  I  know  nothing 
else,  and  I  must  work  on  at  this.  I  never  speculate  my- 
self, though ;  you  can  bet  on  that.  But  in  the  name 
of  all  that's  holy,  keep  me  out  of  your  articles,  or  no 
one  knows  what  will  happen  to  me.  You're  my  friend, 
Mr.  Delaval,  and  your  father  and  I  were  friends,  and 
you  have  promised  secrecy,  you  know." 

He  was  assured  that  the  promise  would  be  held 
sacred,  and  they  walked  on.  Soon  they  came  to  a 
building  whose  charming  facade  arrested  their  sight 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  279 

Out  of  a  nightmare  of  architecture  it  stood  forth  a 
thing  of  beauty.  They  saw  huge  granite  columns  ris- 
ing a  hundred  feet  above  their  heads  and  supporting 
a  pediment  in  which  figures  of  marbled  grace  formed 
a  group  in  allegory. 

"The  new  Stock  Exchange,"  said  Jackson.  "Come, 
and  we  will  see  it  at  its  busiest  hour." 

They  followed  him  through  a  side  door  into  a  marble 
corridor.  Thence  an  elevator  took  them  up  ten  stories. 
They  stepped  into  another  hallway  of  marble,  at  the 
end  of  which  Jackson  presented  tickets  to  a  door  ten- 
der and  they  were  admitted  into  a  small  balcony  with 
bronze  railings.  From  this  they  overlooked  the  main 
hall  of  the  Exchange.  Opposite  them  was  another  bal- 
cony of  the  same  kind.  It  was  for  the  use  of  the  offi- 
cials of  the  Exchange,  and  was  seldom  occupied,  Jack- 
son explained. 

The  interior  graces  of  the  building  were  in  harmony 
with  its  superb  front.  Marble  walls  more  than  a  hun- 
dred feet  in  height  upheld  a  gilded  ceiling  and  enclosed 
a  single  great  hall,  on  the  floor  of  which  two  thousand 
men  and  boys  found  ample  room  to  walk  about.  From 
the  balcony  these  people  looked  like  pygmies  in  a  Brob- 
dignagian  palace,  and  the  mingled  sounds  of  their 
voices  were  as  the  buzzing  of  many  thousand  bees. 

Immense  plate  glass  windows  high  up  in  the  front 
and  rear  walls  admitted  light  over  the  roofs  of  ad- 
joining buildings.  At  one  end  of  the  floor,  and  along 
the  entire  length  of  one  side,  little  apartments  were 
partitioned  off,  and  these  and  the  railings  and  tables 
were  all  made  of  carved  and  polished  woods. 

"Those  black  spaces  which  have  displaced  the  lower 
marble  panels  of  the  walls  on  two  sides,"  said  Jackson, 
"are  bulletin  boards.     There,  in  minute  sections,  the 


28o  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

figures  of  changing  prices  are  flashed  by  an  electric 
apparatus." 

The  impression  to  the  visitors  was  that  of  a  huge 
chess  board  on  which  invisible  players  were  making 
constant  moves. 

"What  are  those  dark  shafts  with  bronze  tops  all 
about  the  hall,  where  the  groups  of  excited  men  are 
gathered?"  asked  Lyle. 

"They  are  for  more  extended  bulletins  of  particular 
stocks.  The  brokers  stay  near  them  to  watch  the 
latest  changes.  The  men  with  pads  and  pencils  m 
hand  are  the  selling  traders,  who  stand  ready  to  re- 
ceive orders.  The  orders  are  given  either  by  word 
of  mouth  or  by  a  code  of  signals  by  hand  and  fingers. 
All  such  signals  have  to  be  lived  up  to,  even  to  the 
minutest  detail,  or  else  the  offending  broker  is  ex- 
pelled. That  is  one  of  the  arguments  generally  used 
to  prove  that  Stock  Exchange  men  are  honest." 

"Is  it  not  true,"  inquired  Delaval,  "that  there  simply 
must  be  an  enforcement  of  such  signals,  else  the  ex- 
change would  have  to  suspend  business  along  present 
lines?" 

"Yes,"  Jackson  admitted.  "The  argument  I  men- 
tion is  not  my  argument.  Those  boys  in  gray  uniforms 
you  see  threading  their  way  in  and  out  among  the 
brokers  are  pages,"  he  added.  "And  that  pleasant 
odor  which  fills  the  air  comes  from  the  ventilators. 
The  apparatus  to  operate  them  cost  thirty  thousand 
dollars,  and  it  not  only  supplies  fresh  air,  but  sends 
a  constant  supply  of  delicate  perfume  through  the  en- 
tire building.  This  building  itself  cost  three  millions, 
and  the  ground  on  which  it  stands  is  worth  that  much 
more." 

"It  is  quite  appropriate,"  said  DelavaL  "that  this 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  281 

place  should  excel  the  people's  assembly  halls  in  all 
the  State  capitals  and  in  Washington  as  well.  For  in 
those  halls  only  laws  are  made.  Here  prices  are  made, 
independent  of  law." 

"That  is  just  what  I  would  like  to  have  you  make 
plain  to  me,"  said  Lyle.  "If  the  people  could  only 
understand — but  what  is  that  terrible  excitement  there 
in  the  middle  of  the  floor?  It  looks  like  a  fight.  See, 
one  man  is  choking  another !" 

"Oh,  pay  no  r.ttention  to  that,"  Jackson  told  him. 
"Wait  till  you  aee  a  real  panic.  You'll  think  they  are 
all  insane  and  trying  to  murder  each  other,  but  they 
will  only  be  seeking  to  get  their  bids  in  ahead  of 
some  one  else." 

"Remember,  too,"  added  Delaval,  "that  they  are 
just  tradesmen  arguing  over  prices,  and  I  have  known 
of  few  tradesmen  to  fight  when  their  lives  would  be 
endangered  thereby.  Take  the  history  of  this  Ex- 
change, and  I  am  sure  you  will  find  no  warrior  in 
the  whole  list  of  members  from  the  beginning." 

"By  George,  I  never  thought  of  that,"  said  Jackson, 
thoughtfully,  "but  now  I  recall  that  in  Burton's  book, 
Forty  Years  on  the  Stock  Exchange — he's  just  fin- 
ished an  up-to-date  edition,  you  know — in  all  that 
book,  no  soldier  figures  to  any  extent  save  in  the  story 
of  how  General  Grant  was  imposed  upon  by  a  swin- 
dling trader." 

"There  was  a  story  about  General  Lee  that  Burton 
did  well  to  leave  out  of  his  book,"  Delaval  went  on. 
"Some  New  York  financiers  were  organizing  an  insur- 
ance company,  and  one  of  them  went  to  Lee  in  his 
Virginia  home  and  asked  him  to  lend  his  name  as  a 
director.  The  company  is  one  of  those  whose  funds 
are  now  juggled  by  these  traders.     'We'll  pay  you 


282  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

ten  thousand  a  year  just  for  the  use  of  your  name,' 
the  general  was  told,  and  he  replied,  'I  cannot  put  a 
price  upon  the  affection  which  the  people  of  the  South 
feel  for  me.'  You  see  a  soldier  can  be  above  money, 
but  there  is  nothing  on  which  most  of  those  men  down 
there  would  not  put  a  price. 

"Talk  of  chivalry !"  and  his  voice  was  filled  with 
scorn.  "Chivalry  is  unknown  among  them.  Do  they 
ever  hesitate  to  take  advantage  of  a  fallen  foe  ?  Never. 
Do  they  not  also  lure  women  of  every  class,  from 
wealthy  widows  to  poor  seamstresses,  to  invest  in 
worthless  stocks — lure  them  by  advertisements,  by 
circulars,  or  by  any  means  that  will  succeed?  And 
when  the  tearful  victims  fill  their  offices  don't  they 
hide  from  them  or  coldly  order  them  to  be  gone?" 

"That's  true,"  replied  Jackson.  "I've  looked  upon 
many  a  heart-breaking  scene.  But  not  all  brokers 
will  seek  that  kind  of  customers,  and  I  have  known 
one  who  absolutely  refuses  to  take  money  from  any 
woman  unless  she  is  rich  and  can  afford  to  lose  it. 
There's  some  flowers  among  the  nettles,  gentlemen, 
though  not  many." 

"Speaking  of  bravery,"  Lyle  interposed,  "isn't  it 
true,  Mr.  Jackson,  that  when  an  anarchist  tried  to 
blow  up  Hussle,  the  veteran  trader  who's  worth  eighty 
millions  or  more,  he  hid  behind  one  of  his  clerks  ?" 

"Certainly.  And  the  clerk's  arm  was  blown  off, 
while  the  old  man  wasn't  hurt  a  bit.  Then  the  clerk 
had  to  sue  Hussle  before  he  could  get  a  cent  of  dam- 
ages.    A  jury  finally  awarded  him  a  few  thousands." 

"And  you  will  find,  too,''  Delaval  added,  "that  there 
are  few  athletes  in  this  Wall  Street  crowd.  Open, 
manly  contests  in  which  the  best  man  wins  tend  to  de- 
velop men  ethically.    But  I  have  looked  up  the  personal 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  283 

history  of  many  of  the  Wall  Street  financiers,  and  I 
find  that  without  an  exception  the  very  leaders  of 
them  all,  whether  college  men  or  not,  never  had  a 
taste  for  any  kind  of  athletics." 

"Still  these  men  have  a  certain  amount  of  good 
fellowship,"  said  Jackson,  who  did  not  want  to  see 
his  associates  of  twenty  years  painted  wholly  black. 
"They  take  up  big  collections  for  ex-members  in  need, 
and  for  numerous  charity  affairs.  They're  playful, 
too,  in  off  hours.  For  instance,  if  any  one  appears  on 
the  floor  of  the  Exchange  after  the  fifteenth  of  Sep- 
tember wearing  a  straw  hat  the  others  will  bombard 
him  with  paper  wads  and  shelled  corn,  or  grab  his  hat 
and  play  football  with  it.  And  just  before  Christmas 
they  cut  up  high  jinks  on  the  floor  at  closing  time  and 
take  up  collections  for  messenger  boys." 

"The  buccaneers  had  many  playful  moods,"  rejoined 
Delaval,  "and  they  lived  up  to  a  higher  code  of  ethics 
than  these  men.  At  least  half  of  those  down  there 
are  bald,  or  are  becoming  bald,"  he  continued,  "and 
many  seem  prematurely  old.  And  what  a  large  num- 
ber seem  to  be  Jews." 

"More  than  a  third  of  the  entire  membership  of 
eleven  hundred  are  Jews,''  said  Jackson.  "I  think  at 
least  two-fifths  must  belong  to  that  race." 

"A  race  not  noted  for  the  subordination  of  profit- 
making  to  ethics ;  but  the  Jews  are  no  worse  than  the 
other  traders  here.  And  now  we  are  getting  down  to 
cases.  There  are  about  a  million  and  a  quarter  Jews 
in  this  country  and  they  comprise  less  than  one-sixtieth 
of  our  population.  Yet  they  form  two-fifths  of  the 
membership  of  this  Stock  Exchange,  which  rules  the 
country — this  exchange  and  the  legal  fraternity,  who 
are  always  ready  to  do  its  bidding.     Oh,  the  folly  of 


284  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

the  American  people  to  allow  themselves  to  be  domi- 
nated by  traders  and  lawyers !  In  all  ages  these  two 
classes  have  been  the  least  trustworthy  in  any  civilized 
society.  They  are  at  best  a  kind  of  necessary  evil. 
Blackstone  tells  us  of  how  Pope  Urban  in  the  eleventh 
or  twelfth  century  decreed  that  no  one  of  either  class 
could  be  accepted  as  a  Christian  without  forswearing 
his  calling." 

"And  now  tell  us  just  how  they  rule  the  country," 
Lyle  suggested. 

"Very  well.  On  a  spring  day  in  the  year  1792 — 
but  what's  that  fearful  excitement  about,  Mr.  Jack- 
son?" and  Delaval  rose  from  his  seat  and  leaned  over 
the  railing.  "See,  it  looks  as  though  a  real  panic  may 
have  started  this  time  in  the  lower  end  of  the  hall!" 

"That's  the  first  block  of  American  Steel  being  of- 
fered after  years  of  preparation,"  was  the  reply.  "The 
rush  to  buy  it  is  simply  a  part  of  the  plan  of  the 
manipulators.  Go  ahead  with  your  story  and  pay  no 
attention  to  them.  As  I  have  explained,  there  may  be 
much  noise  about  such  a  matter,  but  nobody  will  be 
hurt — at  least  nobody  down  there." 


CHAPTER  X 
"we  have  exalted  trade  until  it  is  seated  upon 

A  THRONE^ 

Delaval  then  continued  his  history  of  the  Exchange. 
He  told  how,  on  a  spring  day  in  the  year  1792,  a  group 
of  men  met  under  a  buttonwood  tree  not  far  from 
where  he  and  his  friends  now  sat,  and  organized  the 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  285 

New  York  Stock  Exchange.  They  were  buyers  and 
sellers  of  bank  stocks  and  government  bonds,  and  they 
united  for  the  better  conduct  of  their  business.  One 
of  the  rules  they  made  was  to  accept  no  less  than  one- 
fourth  of  one  per  cent,  commission  from  any  client, 
and  to  give  preference  to  each  other  in  all  trades.  The 
things  they  dealt  in  represented  but  a  small  fraction 
6f  the  country's  wealth,  for  stock  concerns  other  than 
banks  were  then  almost  unknown,  and  the  public  debt 
was  not  great. 

The  Constitution  had  been  framed  five  years  earlier 
by  the  wise  men  of  the  new  nation,  who  thought  they 
had  provided  against  every  error  possible  to  organized 
society.  Piracy  on  the  sea  had  been  suppressed,  and 
the  rule  of  corporations  on  land  was  not  yet  dreamed 
of.  The  War  of  the  Revolution  had  ended  seven  years 
before,  but  it  was  not  of  record  that  any  of  the  men 
under  that  buttonwood  tree  had  helped  to  bring  about 
its  glorious  result. 

And  now  this  Exchange,  which  had  such  humble 
beginnings,  had  expanded  into  an  association  with 
eleven  hundred  members  who  dealt  in  stocks  and  bonds 
representing  seventy  billions  of  dollars,  or  two-thirds 
of  the  national  wealth,  and  ninety-five  per  cent,  of 
their  enormous  transactions  were  margin  trades,  which 
meant  that  they  were  gambling  and  gambling  only. 
Sixty  millions  in  commissions  alone  were  devoured 
every  year  by  these  greedy  traders,  but  that  did  not 
begin  to  tell  the  tale. 

"The  greatest,  the  most  tragic  fact  of  all,"  said 
Delaval,  "is  that  they  have  the  nation  by  the  throat, 
because  the  nation  has  neglected  to  control  them. 
Tragic  ?  It  is  of  the  very  essence  of  tragedy.  Noth- 
ing: is  more  pitiful,  more  terrible  in  its  consequences 


286  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

in  all  American  history  than  this  one  fact.  And  no 
more  damning  Indictment  of  the  republic  could  be 
conceived." 

"How  is  it  that  neither  the  State  nor  the  nation  has 
ever  interfered?"  Lyle  wanted  to  know. 

"The  State  of  New  York  did  try  it  twenty  or  more 
years  ago,"  Jackson  informed  him.  "A  reform  Gov- 
ernor tried  it,  but  the  Exchange  had  too  much  influence 
in  the  Legislature  and  it  made  the  Governor  withdraw 
his  bill.  Other  measures  of  the  sort  are  regularly 
smothered  to  death  in  committee  rooms.  That  particu- 
lar Governor  was  never  heard  of  in  politics  again. 
But  see  that  man  down  there  who  is  rushing  about 
and  waving  his  arms  to  a  group  of  followers — the 
portly  man  with  side  whiskers  and  with  tobacco  juice 
running  off  his  chin?  That's  an  ex-Governor  who 
always  did  the  things  these  fellows  wanted,  and  now 
he's  one  of  the  leaders  among  them." 

"Oh,  that's  ex-Governor  Blossom,"  said  Lyle.  "I've 
interviewed  him  often.  I've  been  told  that  he  made  a 
million  unloading  street  railway  shares  on  the  public. 
And  how  about  conditions  in  other  countries,  Del?" 

"No  other  nation  in  the  world  is  so  blameworthy. 
Our  people  are  seldom  allowed  even  to  hear  about 
how  the  exchanges  are  regulated  abroad.  It  was 
Napoleon  who  decreed  laws  for  the  Paris  Bourse  that 
have  since  endured.  There  even  the  number  of  agents 
de  cJiange  is  regulated  by  the  government,  and  they  all 
have  an  official  standing.  The  entire  body  must  make 
good  the  debts  of  individual  members." 

"Debts  to  customers?"  Jackson  interrupted  to  ask. 

"Yes,  to  all  creditors  alike." 

"How  different  it  is  here.  Why,  do  you  know  that 
one  of  the  rules  of  this  'Change  is  that  debts  to  its  own 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  287 

members  must  first  be  paid  before  other  creditors  of  a 
ruined  broker  can  get  a  cent?  That  rule  alone  might 
cause  a  political  revolution  if  it  were  generally  under- 
stood. It  means,  for  one  thing,  that  if  one  broker 
gambles  for  another  and  is  financially  wrecked  thereby, 
the  other  broker's  claims  upon  him  have  precedence 
over  all  other  creditors,  though  there  may  be  a  thou- 
sand of  them.  And  if  the  ruined  broker  has  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  of  assets  left,  or  a  hundred  thousand, 
and  that  represents  the  total  amount  of  the  other 
broker's  claim,  the  latter  can  take  the  entire  sum  and 
the  other  claimants  get  nothing." 

"That  beats  any  class  legislation  I  ever  heard  of," 
Lyle  remarked,  "and  yet  it  is  not  legislation,  for  it 
is  done  entirely  outside  of  the  law." 

"Another  thing  which  shows  the  regard  of  this  asso- 
ciation for  its  membership,"  Jackson  added,  "is  a  rule 
that  accounts  will  not  be  accepted  from  each  other's 
employees.  Now,  they  all  know  how  great  the  risks 
are  in  margin  gambling  and  how  employees  are  often 
led  to  steal  in  order  to  recoup  their  losses,  and  hence 
this  rule  to  protect  members,  while  employers  in  gen- 
eral are  left  at  the  mercy  of  dishonest  workers." 

"How  about  the  bank  note  trust?"  Delaval  asked 
him.  "That  is  of  a  piece  with  this  favoritism  to 
members." 

"Oh,  that  is  a  thing  ruled  by  the  inner  circle.  You 
see,  there  are  circles  within  circles  of  favoritism,  and 
the  bank  note  clique  is  composed  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Exchange.  The  only  certificates  accepted  for  stocks 
and  bonds  on  the  floor  are  those  made  by  a  certain 
concern  whose  plant  is  owned  by  this  inner  circle. 
With  so  many  millions  of  certificates  exchanging  here 
every  few  weeks,  and  a  clear  profit  of  several  cents 


288  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

on  each  one,  the  yearly  profits  on  this  alone  amount 
to  millions." 

"Can't  this  be  stopped  by  a  suit  in  court?" 

"That  has  been  tried  more  than  once,  but  the  inner 
circle  always  comes  out  victorious.  It  is  simply  a  case 
of  the  big  fish  swallowing  the  little  ones.  But  please 
continue  your  story,  Mr.  Delaval." 

"Only  at  the  New  York  and  Paris  exchanges  are 
seats  bought  and  sold,  but  a  membership  at  Paris  is 
worth  four  hundred  thousand  dollars,  which  makes 
a  member  responsible  in  case  of  his  failure,  for  his 
seat  can  be  sold  for  the  benefit  of  all  creditors.  And 
there  no  securities  can  be  traded  in  except  for  clients, 
and  then  only  in  securities  listed  there.  Both  these 
rules  are  unheard  of  here,  Mr.  Jackson  tells  me." 

"You'll  have  to  write  all  those  facts  in  a  separate 
article,  Del,"  Lyle  interrupted  to  remark,  "for  I  can 
never  find  room  for  half  of  them  in  my  article  on 
'The  Cost  of  Speculation.'  " 

"Very  well.  But  now  you  see  what  a  task  we've 
undertaken.  Months  of  study  are  needed  to  write  up 
almost  any  phase  of  the  subject.  And  in  Paris," 
he  resumed,  "no  securities  can  be  traded  in  unless 
they  have  been  listed,  and  they  cannot  be  listed  with- 
out a  rigid  examination.  Gorman  tried  in  vain  to 
have  his  steel  stock  placed  on  that  Bourse.  And  there 
are  no  stock  tickers  in  France,  not  even  in  brokers' 
offices." 

"What  a  blessing  it  would  be  if  they  were  all 
abolished  in  America !"  Jackson  exclaimed.  "They  are 
everywhere  among  us,  it  seems — in  brokers'  offices, 
and  in  their  branch  offices,  which  are  maintained  by 
the  dozen  in  all  large  cities;  in  hotel  corridors,  in 
saloons,   in   pool   rooms,   and  in   some  private   clubs, 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  289 

sputtering  and  humming  and  inviting  people  to 
gamble." 

"And  in  Vienna,"  Delaval  continued,  "no  stock 
tickers  are  allowed  either.  More  than  this,  the  daily 
papers  cannot  print  the  closing  prices  until  the  next 
day.  Other  laws  there  are  as  strict  as  those  in  France, 
and  in  one  respect  more  strict.  Brokers  must  give  a 
bond  not  to  trade  except  for  a  customer.  There  is  an 
even  better  feature  of  the  German  Bourse  law :  only 
persons  of  proved  financial  standing  may  speculate. 
Their  names  must  be  found  in  the  commercial  register, 
which  is  an  official  publication.  All  hand  workers  are 
kept  out,  and  so  are  owners  of  small  shops,  even  if 
their  names  are  registered.  In  America,  of  course, 
this  would  be  regarded  as  an  abridgement  of  that 
glorious  liberty  for  which  our  forefathers  fought,  et 
cetera,  but  it  would  keep  many  from  the  poorhouse 
or  the  suicide's  grave.  And  in  Germany,  too,  there  is 
strict  inspection  of  all  brokers'  books." 

"How  about  the  London  exchange  ?"  Lyle  asked. 

"It  is  a  joint  stock  institution,  and  therefore  a  crea- 
ture of  the  government.  Members  may  have  stock 
tickers  in  their  own  offices,  but  not  elsewhere.  They 
cannot  even  maintain  branch  offices,  and  they  are 
not  allowed  to  advertise  or  to  send  circulars  to  each 
other's  clients.  No  member  can  engage  in  any  other 
business.  And  outside  creditors  have  an  equal  chance 
with  the  members.  The  rules  requiring  only  fort- 
nightly settlements  for  cash  keep  out  irresponsible 
persons.  A  'contango,'  or  fee  for  carrying  the  stocks 
until  settlement  day,  is  paid,  and  this  has  a  faint  re- 
semblance to  our  margin  gambling.  But  only  big 
speculators  can  be  ruined  there,  or  anywhere  on  the 
Continent.     Of  course  fraudulent  companies  are  pro- 


290  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

moted  at  times,  and  their  shares  are  sold  outright  to 
many  innocent  buyers,  but  it  is  much  harder  to  do 
even  that  abroad  than  here.  The  Panama  Canal  scan- 
dal showed  what  could  be  done  in  France.  However, 
many  prominent  men  went  to  prison  for  that  deal, 
and  nothing  of  that  size  has  been  attempted  since.  But 
the  Stock  Exchange  leaders  here  are  too  powerful  even 
to  be  interrupted  in  their  plunderings." 

"And  this  exchange  is  regulated  only  by  itself," 
commented  Jackson. 

"By  itself  alone,  and  what  that  regulation  amounts 
to,  you  have  already  explained  to  us  in  part.  Before 
the  day  is  over  I  hope  you  will  tell  us  more  specifically 
how  legions  are  lured  to  ruin  by  margin  gambling. 
The  New  York  Stock  Exchange,  it  has  been  said,  is 
governed  like  a  gentlemen's  club,  but  it  is  a  club  in 
which,  I  fear,  there  is  not  a  preponderance  of  gentle- 
manly members." 

"And  so,"  said  Lyle,  "the  country  is  at  the  mercy 
of  this " 

"Band  of  pirates,"  finished  Delaval.  "You  re- 
member that  the  buccaneers  began  as  traders  who, 
upon  organizing  to  better  their  condition,  made  rules 
for  themselves  and,  being  unregulated  by  any  govern- 
ment, ended  as  pirates.  And  in  the  history  of  all 
governments  you  will  find  that  unless  tradesmen  are 
restrained  they  will  rule  in  accordance  with  their  own 
sordid  ideals.  Yet  we  have  exalted  trade  until  it  is 
seated  upon  a  throne,  and  that  throne  is  here." 

"Perhaps  we  are  destined  to  travel  Rome's  road  to 
ruin,"  said  Lyle  in  melancholy  tones. 

"Rome?  Ah,  no.  Our  country's  condition  can  be 
compared  neither  with  the  grandeur  that  was  Rome 
nor  the  glory  that  was  Greece.    Rather,  we  have  be- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  291 

come  another  Carthage.  Like  Carthage  we  are  ruled 
by  tradesmen  and  by  judges,  and  our  ideals,  like  those 
of  Carthage,  are  the  ideals  of  the  market  place,  and 
our  faith  is  punic  faith,  and  Gorman  is  the  greatest 
Carthaginian  of  us  all." 

"Ah,  that  would  be  a  fine  phrase  to  start  my  article 
with,"  and  Lyle  looked  his  admiration. 

"But  it  would  never  do  for  a  popular  magazine," 
Delaval  assured  him,  "so  please  don't  think  of  using 
it.  Besides,  I  want  to  put  it  in  the  mouth  of  one 
of  the  characters  in  the  drama  I  am  writing." 


CHAPTER  XI 


FATHER    AND    DAUGHTER 


Gorman  was  not  too  busy  with  schemes  of  con- 
quest to  make  a  last  effort  at  reconciliation  with  his 
daughter.  He  still  dreamed  of  a  ducal  alliance  for 
her  and  was  never  able  to  understand  her  reasons  for 
spurning  that  kind  of  greatness. 

He  was  at  times  oppressed  with  a  sense  of  loneli- 
ness, in  spite  of  the  multitudinous  activities  of  his 
brain.  His  son  was  married  to  an  Englishwoman  of 
noble  family,  and  was  settled  in  an  establishment  far 
from  his  own.  And  Theodora's  stepmother,  after  her 
first  year  as  his  wife,  realized  that  he  could  never 
love  any  one  but  himself  and  avoided  his  society  as 
much  as  she  decently  could.  They  had  separate  sets 
of  friends,  and  often  she  would  sail  for  Europe  just 
as  he  was  returning  from  abroad,  and  when  he  crossed 
the  ocean  again,  she  would  come  back  to  America. 


292  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

He  was  sometimes  haunted,  too,  by  the  memory  of 
his  first  wife's  eyes  as  she  lay  upon  her  death-bed. 
This  was  only  a  few  months  after  Theodora  had  gone 
to  live  at  Glacken  Hall.  And  it  was  the  girl's  own 
fault  that  she  had  given  up  the  richest  home  in 
America  for  such  social  experimenting,  so  why  must 
that  final  look  pursue  him  so? 

His  spies  had  kept  him  informed  of  Theodora's  im- 
portant movements,  and  when  he  was  told  that  a  cer- 
tain young  man  was  seen  much  in  her  company,  he 
ordered  a  full  report  of  the  man's  history.  He  learned 
that  he  was  one  of  a  group  of  writers  who  were 
attacking  his  system,  that  his  name  was  Arthur  Dela- 
val,  and  that  he  was  the  son  of  the  Senator  who  had 
opposed  his  aggressions  in  the  South.  His  informers 
next  brought  him  word  that  caused  him  to  rage  in- 
wardly. His  daughter  was  believed  to  be  engaged  to 
marry  Delaval.  It  was  then  that  he  sent  his  house- 
keeper as  a  special  envoy  to  ask  her  to  come  and  see 
him. 

When  the  large  touring  car  arrived  at  the  Hall 
"Miss  Hampton"  was  talking  with  Delaval  in  the  re- 
ception room.  She  told  him  where  she  was  going  and 
he  accompanied  her  as  far  as  the  office  of  the  Forward 
Magazine.  The  housekeeper,  a  woman  of  advanced 
years,  rode  on  the  front  seat  with  the  chauffeur. 

As  they  passed  through  the  dingy  streets  near  the 
social  settlement  they  talked  over  the  scenario  of  his 
play,  "The  Ruler  of  America,"  which  he  had  just 
been  reading  to  her.  "Remember,"  she  said,  "you 
have  promised  not  to  attack  him  as  an  evil  personality, 
but  as  one  who  is  in  the  grip  of  impulses  over  which 
he  has  no  control — just  as,  for  instance,  an  insane 
/ 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  293 

person  is  dominated  by  impulses  for  which  he  is  not 
responsible." 

He  promised,  although  he  could  not  accept  her 
views  as  his  own. 

The  car  left  the  narrow,  poorly  lighted  streets  of 
the  East  Side  and  entered  Fifth  avenue,  where  great 
globes  of  light  lined  either  side  of  the  broad  asphalted 
way,  stretching  northward  for  miles  like  titanic  ropes 
of  pearl.  And  as  they  sped  noiselessly  along  he  mused 
upon  the  strangeness  of  the  fate  which  had  made  this 
woman  of  all  women  his  fiancee.  She  was  to  be  his 
as  soon  as  the  play  was  produced.  He  longed  to  de- 
vote his  every  waking  hour  to  this  work,  yet  too  many 
other  things  needed  his  attention  first.  "But  she  is 
worth  waiting  years  for,"  he  thought,  and  as  he  bade 
her  good-night  a  wave  of  inexpressible  tenderness 
swept  over  him  at  the  realization  of  what  her  love 
meant  to  him. 

Gorman  did  not  intend  to  try  bullying  his  daughter 
this  time.  He  knew  from  experience  that  it  would  be 
futile.  He  had  not  seen  her  for  years,  and  he  felt 
something  of  pride  as  she  stood  before  him  again, 
beautiful  and  smiling,  but  with  an  uncompromising  air 
such  as  he  would  have  her  maintain — toward  others. 
He  was  older  in  appearance,  and  balder,  and  heavier 
than  when  she  had  seen  him  last,  and  there  were 
dozens  more  of  little  wrinkles  about  his  eyes,  but  he 
seemed  as  vigorous  and  alert  as  ever  in  body  as  in 
mind. 

He  pointed  to  a  tapestried  chair,  but  himself  re- 
mained standing,  and  when  she  had  seated  herself  he 
began : 

"The  Duke  of  Burlboro  will  soon  visit  New  York 


294  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

again.  I  sent  for  you,  hoping  that  you  might  now 
think  differently  about  becoming  the  Duchess." 

"Is  that  all?" 

"Well,  of  course  I  wanted  to  know  how  you  were 
getting  along  with  your  uplifting." 

"So  well  that  I  am  happier  than  I  ever  have  been 
before." 

He  winced,  and  then  his  jaws  set  more  tightly. 

"Listen,"  he  said,  and  now  he  spoke  quickly  that 
she  might  not  interrupt;  "the  Duke's  title  goes  back 
to  the  year  one  thousand,  he  has  two  palaces,  his 
mother  is,  next  to  the  Queen,  the  highest  social  au- 
thority in  Great  Britain.  He  is  the  friend  and  asso- 
ciate of  kings,  he  is  still  unmarried,  and  he  would 
marry  you." 

"And  he  wants  five  million  in  railway  bonds  to  do 
it." 

"He  wants  five  million.  But  you  can  be  richer  than 
he  in  your  own  right.  You  may  have  two  dollars 
for  every  one  of  his.  You  may  have  yachts  and 
jewels.  At  your  wedding  you  may  wear  upon  your 
head  the  tiara  which  Cardinal  Wolsey  placed  upon  the 
brow  of  the  Duchess  Octavia.  On  your  bosom  you 
may  pin  the  diamond  sunburst  that  Louis  Fourteenth 
gave  to  Madame  de  Maintenon.  About  your  throat 
you  may  have  the  necklace  of  Pomeranian  amber  set 
in  Lydian  gold  that  Napoleon  presented  to  Josephine. 
You " 

"It  is  useless,  father.  You  and  I  do  not  speak  the 
same  language." 

"No,"  and  his  tones  were  now  tinged  with  bitter- 
ness, "yours  has  become  the  language  of  the  cheap 
phrase-makers  who  stir  up  the  rabble." 

"They  are  phrase-makers  that  you  cannot  buy." 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  295 

"There  is  nothing  in  America  that  I  cannot  buy." 

"Except  real  honor,  real  friendship,  real  love.  My 
friends  are  real  friends." 

"Are  you  going  to  marry  that  fellow  Delaval  ?" 

"I  think  so.  He  is  doing  grand  work.  He  is  seek- 
ing to  lessen  suicide,  crime,  misery,  while  your 
methods " 

"Stop!  You  understand  nothing  of  the  humanity 
that  you  talk  of  aiding.  If  I  did  not  reap  profits 
where  I  do,  others  would.  Mankind  are  the  victims 
of  their  own  cupidity  or  pride  in  ninety-nine  cases 
out  of  one  hundred  that  are  laid  to  injustice." 

"And  I  tell  you  that  your  system  makes  men  bad. 
You  use  for  your  purposes  all  the  power  of  civiliza- 
tion without  its  mercy.  You  create  nothing,  you  ab- 
sorb everything  that  others  create  that  is  of  value. 
By  your  Stock  Exchange  you  are  now  seeking  to  fan 
to  a  white  heat  the  passion  for  gambling  that  resides 
in  almost  every  human  breast,  and  in  all  your  aggres- 
sions you  arouse  the  worse  instead  of  the  better 
impulses " 

"We  will  not  discuss  this  further,"  he  interrupted 
in  melancholy  tones.  "Will  you  marry  the  Duke  ?  You 
may  start  in  to-morrow  at  the  newly  established  school 
near  Central  Park,  where  Americans  are  taught  how 
to  bow  to  the  throne." 

"I  will  not  even  meet  your  Duke — not  even  if  you 
were  to  give  up  all  your  schemes  of  aggrandizement 
to  work  for  righteousness,  though  once  I  might  have 
married  him  on  that  condition." 

"You  are  insane." 

"You  are  far  worse  than  insane,  and  yet  I  cannot 
hate  you,  for  you  are  my  father." 

And   thus  they  parted,   without  a  kiss,  without  a 


2g6  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

handclasp,  without  even  a  touching-  of  finger  tips  upon 
finger  tips. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE    STORY    OF    MAJOR   ARMITAGE 

Both  books  and  men  were  studied  by  Lyle  to  learn 
how  Wall  street  ruled  and  at  times  almost  ruined  the 
nation.  There  were  times  when  he  found  men  easier 
to  read  than  books,  and  there  were  some  books  that 
were  more  frank  than  men.  But  he  was  more  than 
surprised  when  he  read,  in  a  public  library,  a  work 
called  Forty  Years  on  the  Stock  Exchange,  by 
Richard  Burton,  the  friend  and  ally  of  Gorman.  Dela- 
val  had  told  him  to  look  up  the  book,  which  was  an 
up-to-date  revision  of  a  volume  issued  a  score  of  years 
earlier  under  the  title  of  Twenty  Years  on  the  Stock 
Exchange. 

Not  in  many  particulars  was  the  book  truthful. 
Lyle  did  not  expect  that.  But  he  did  expect  to  find 
positive  denials  of  manipulation,  such  as  numerous 
Wall  Street  men  had  made  to  him,  or  else  vague 
generalities  intended  to  baffle  or  confuse  readers  in 
search  of  facts.  But  this  is  what  he  read  in  a  chapter 
about  a  group  of  operators  in  metals,  who  were  backed 
by  what  the  author  referred  to  as  the  "oil  crowd": 

"With  these  operators  manipulation  has  ceased  to  be 
speculation.  The  beauty  of  their  method  is  its  quietness 
and  entire  lack  of  ostentation.  There  is  an  utter  absence 
of  chance  that  is  terrible  to  contemplate." 

"Out  of  the  mouth  of  one  of  the  priests  of  the 
temple  are  all  the  others  condemned,"  said  Lyle  to 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  297 

himself,  and  he  resolved  to  quote  the  book  in  his  next 
article. 

On  the  following  day  he  showed  the  quotation  to 
Jackson.  "But  can  I  get  anyone  to  talk  on  this  sub- 
ject?" Lyle  asked.  "I  mean  that  I  want  to  tell  of  a 
personal  experience  to  give  human  interest  to  mv 
story.  Will  anyone  who  knows  talk  to  the  world 
through  the  Forward  Magazine?  Every  one  who  is 
willing  to  tell  me  the  truth  has  thus  far  been  afraid 
to  be  quoted,  just  as  you  are." 

Then  Jackson  gave  him  a  note  to  Major  William 
Armitage.  The  major  lived  in  a  humble  apartment 
near  the  East  River.  He  was  old  yet  stalwart, 
wrinkled  yet  bright  eyed,  ragged  of  attire  yet  noble  of 
bearing.  After  showing  his  visitor  a  chair  he  sat 
down  opposite  him  and  began  stroking  a  sparse,  white 
beard  with  a  thin,  pale  hand  while  he  read  the  note  of 
introduction. 

"What  is  it  you  wish  me  to  tell  you  first?"  he  in- 
quired, looking  up  from  the  note. 

"How  the  elevated  railways  were  manipulated  by 
Charley  Stine,  the  'Old  Gray  Wolf  of  Wall  Street,'  " 
said  Lyle.  "He  is  now  selling  steel  stock  for  Gorman." 
"What — that  man  handling  steel?"  The  major's 
eyes  became  brighter  and  his  jaws  set  with  a  click. 
"Then  God  help  the  investors  !" 
After  a  moment  he  resumed : 

"So  you  want  to  know  about  manipulations?  Well, 
I  am  a  living  advertisement  of  manipulation.  This 
poor  dwelling,  these  ragged  clothes,  these  thinning 
and  whitening  hairs  upon  a  head  that  went  unscathed 
from  Antietam  to  Appomattox,  all  testify  to  manipu- 
lation. I  have  been  through  a  campaign  whose  ter- 
rors are  far  worse  than  those  of  bloody  warfare.     I 


298  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

have  been  beggared  and  I  have  seen  hundreds  of  others 
beggared,  and  women  and  children — the — the — the 
beloved  wife  of  my  bosom  went  to  her  grave  with  a 
reproachful  look  that  will  haunt  me — I — I " 

The  old  man's  voice  broke  and  he  paused  to  calm 
himself.    Then  he  continued: 

"The  'Old  Gray  Wolf,'  eh?  He's  been  in  the  Street 
for  near  a  generation  now.  He  is  a  foreign-born 
adventurer,  like  Gluten  and  Burton  and  so  many 
others.  They  come  here,  you  know,  looking  for  op- 
portunities they'd  never  find  in  other  countries,  and 
they  find  them,  too.  This  man  Stine  has  been  in  every- 
thing from  sugar  and  whisky  to  railways  and  tele- 
graphs. His  last  deal  was  a  pool  in  tobacco,  and  he 
sold  out  ahead  of  the  time  agreed  on,  and  five  Ex- 
change firms  went  to  smash.  If  you  could  only  see 
his  face  once — cold  and  hard  and  truly  wolf-like  it  is, 
and  his  eyes,  with  their  snaky  glitter.  Why,  no  one 
will  trust  him  any  more.  How  is  it  that  Gor- 
man  ?" 

"Nobody  dares  betray  Gorman,  I  suppose,"  said 
Lyle. 

"Ah,  yes,  I  suppose  it  has  come  to  that.  Well,  he 
could  have  no  better  aid  for  his  purposes,  then,  for 
there  is  absolutely  nothing  that  Stine  would  scruple 
at.  But  I  will  tell  you  what  he  did  in  elevated  rail- 
ways. I  was  secretary  of  the  company,  and  he  tried 
for  months  to  get  me  to  join  the  other  officers  in 
swindling  the  public.  Finally  they  ousted  me  and  put 
in  a  secretary  they  could  use,  and  I've  been  fighting 
them  ever  since.  I  was  chosen  as  the  head  of  the 
stockholders'  committee.  And  it  has  been  a  desperate, 
thankless  task;  an  unequal  battle,  too,  for  we  were 
always  in  the  minority.    You  see,  whenever  there  was 


THE  AMERICAN   EMPEROR  299 

a  majority  on  our  side  new  stock  could  be  voted  and 
issued  to  the  other  side  until  they  became  the  majority 
holders.  Oh,  the  legal  pitfalls  and  ambuscades  before 
subservient  judges,  the  blows  from  the  dark,  the  blood- 
sucking lawyers,  the  controlled  newspapers,  or  the 
blackmailing  kind  that  attacked  the  stock  only  when 
their  owners  had  sold  their  shares  and  wanted  to  de- 
press values  for  a  new  killing;  the  Tammany  bosses 
that  had  to  have  their  part  of  the  loot,  the  corrupt 
district  attorneys,  the  committees  of  the  Legislature 
that  smothered  reformatory  laws — it  is  a  devious  and 
terrible  road  I  have  traveled,  and  the  end  is  not  yet." 

The  major  talked  on  for  an  hour  about  manipula- 
tion, about  the  defrauding  of  genuine  stockholders 
as  well  as  speculators,  about  the  accidents  to  over- 
crowded cars  on  mismanaged  roads  and  the  deaths  of 
hundreds  every  year.  "It  is  blood  money,"  he  cried, 
"just  as  is  the  money  made  by  the  railroads  of  the 
country  that  kill  their  nine  or  ten  thousand  a  year. 
No  people  in  the  world  are  so  degraded  and  brutalized 
and  slaughtered,  in  factories,  on  railways  and  in  other 
ways  as  are  those  of  America.  And  now  that  the  in- 
dustries are  being  consolidated  and  their  shares  dealt 
in  on  'Change,  the  death  rate  in  the  mills,  which  are 
managed  solely  for  the  profits  they  pay  to  their  ab- 
sentee owners,  is  advancing  at  a  terrible  rate.  Crimes 
of  all  kinds  increase,  too,  after  every  panic.  Do  you 
know  that  there  are  now  more  than  forty  thousand 
violent  deaths  every  year  in  this  glorious  country?" 

"I  did  not  know  that  the  figures  had  grown  to  such 
proportions,  but  I  knew  they  were  increasing  at  a 
tremendous  rate." 

"Yes,  and  there  is  a  direct  connection  between  the 
criminals  in  this  city,  at  least,  and  the  ruling  powers. 


3oo  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

The  last  election,  as  you  know,  was  stolen  by  the  aid 
of  gangs  of  repeaters,  made  up  of  crooks  and  tramps 
and  suspicious  characters  generally,  with  no  regular 
abode  and  no  visible  means  of  support.  These  men 
were  voted  in  droves,  first  in  one  district,  then  in  an- 
other, and  were  paid  out  of  a  corruption  fund  con- 
tributed to  by  Wall  Street  interests.  Soon  after  the 
election  there  was  a  city  bond  issue,  and  by  collusion 
in  bidding  the  houses  of  Gorman,  Burton  and  others 
of  the  inner  circle  made  a  clear  profit  of  two  or  three 
millions.  Now,  is  it  strange  that  the  Mayor  and  police 
are  lenient  with  the  crooks  who  have  aided  them  to 
power?  And  now  you  see  almost  daily  street  wars 
between  gangs,  in  which  men  are  run  to  their  death 
under  the  eyes  of  the  corrupt  and  despised  police,  and 
seldom  are  any  of  them  arrested.  Organizations  of 
such  denizens  of  the  underworld  are  warred  upon  by 
the  police  of  great  European  cities,  but  here  they  are 
among  our  real  rulers.  Thus  it  is  not  strange  that 
New  York  has  more  crime  than  the  three  or  four 
greatest  capitals  of  Europe  combined. 

"Crimes  of  violence  go  hand  in  hand  with  crimes  of 
cunning.  Every  time  we  tried  to  get  decent  banking 
laws  in  Albany  we  were  blocked  by  the  political  ma- 
chines. Trust  companies,  you  know,  do  a  general 
banking  business,  yet  they  keep  only  five  per  cent,  of 
cash  in  reserve.  They  hold  a  billion  of  the  people's 
money,  and  widespread  ruin  may  result  some  day  from 
the  loose  laws  that  govern  them,  for  much  of  their 
assets  is  made  up  of  worthless  stocks  and  bonds.  Even 
our  national  banks  maintain  but  fifteen  per  cent,  of 
cash  in  reserve,  except  in  the  great  cities,  where 
twenty-five  per  cent,  is  kept.  The  Bank  of  England 
maintains  fifty  per  cent,  of  cash.     Now,  there  is  an- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  301 

other  weakness  of  our  system  seldom  referred  to,  and 
that  is  the  fact  that  while  national  banks  are  forbidden 
by  law  to  have  more  than  ten  per  cent,  of  the  stocks 
of  other  concerns  among  their  assets,  there  is  no 
penalty  provided.  What  a  travesty!  The  banking 
clique  will  see  to  it  that  no  penalty  is  ever  provided. 
The  Wall  Street  system  is  monstrous  in  every  way,  I 
tell  you,  sir.  It  is  a  monster  whose  fore  paws  are  in 
power,  and  whose  hind  ones  are  in  crime." 

As  Lyle  walked  away  from  the  house  after  the  ex- 
change of  cordial  "good-bys,"  he  thought  of  the 
valiant  major  as  a  living  tragedy — as  one  whose  fate 
was  much  sadder  than  it  would  have  been  had  he  met 
death  upon  a  battlefield  or  in  any  kind  of  physical 
combat. 

He  returned  to  Jackson  to  obtain  more  specific  in- 
formation about  manipulation. 

"Even  the  brokers  who  have  spent  most  of  their 
lives  here  can  seldom  win  when  they  speculate  on  their 
own  account,"  Jackson  said,  as  they  sat  at  luncheon  in 
a  quaint  old  Dutch  restaurant  in  Broad  street,  near  the 
Exchange.  "Statistics  show  that  only  one  broker  in 
ten  does  speculate,  and  that  of  those  who  do,  but  one 
in  ten  escapes  failure.  Now,  if  those  who  know  the 
game  so  well  cannot  do  any  better  than  that,  what 
chance  has  the  outsider?" 

"Is  no  investment  safe?"  asked  Lyle. 

"I  would  say  that  nothing  in  the  way  of  stocks  that 
you  get  in  Wall  Street  is  very  safe,  even  when  bought 
outright  instead  of  on  margin,  for  any  company  is  at 
the  mercy  of  the  central  powers  whenever  they  get 
ready  to  manipulate  it.  Broadly  speaking  the  only 
people  who  make  profits  out  of  companies  are  their 
organizers.    You  will  find  that  the  brokers  who  get  rich 


302  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

generally  invest  their  profits  in  apartment  houses  or 
other  kinds  of  real  estate.  I  know  a  broker  named 
Jake  Roseheimer,  a  clever  Jew  who  made  as  much  as 
two  hundred  thousand  in  one  panic  by  'scalping  the 
eighths,'  and  he  now  owns  a  block  of  flats  that  will 
make  him  independent  the  rest  of  his  life." 

"Tell  me  what  'scalping  the  eighths'  means,"  said 
Lyle.  "Has  it  anything  to  do  with  the  way  groups  of 
brokers  who,  when  they  learn  that  a  customer  has  no 
more  money  for  margins,  get  together  and  depress  the 
value  of  a  certain  stock  by  matching  orders  until  the 
investor  is  'cleaned  out'?" 

"No.  Scalping  is  done  this  way :  Suppose  Mr.  Per- 
kins of  Kansas  buys  from  Burton  and  Rack  one  thou- 
sand shares  of  Pacific  Railway  stock  at  a  hundred  dol- 
lars a  share.  He  can  buy  this  much  for  ten  thousand, 
on  a  ten  per  cent,  margin.  Suppose,  however,  that 
Pacific  stock  was  really  going  up  as  he  was  told.  A 
rise  is  often  preceded  by  a  slight  drop  in  a  feverish 
market,  and  often,  by  professional  manipulators,  a  drop 
is  the  first  move  in  making  a  bull  market.  Well,  the 
stock  may  have  fallen  off  an  eighth  of  a  point  when 
the  order  comes  to  buy  it  for  Perkins  at  one  hundred. 
Does  the  floor  trader  wait  for  it  to  jump  back  to  the 
hundred  mark?  How  foolish,  when  he  can  buy  it 
lower  on  his  own  or  his  firm's  account,  and  immediately 
fill  the  customer's  order  at  the  higher  price!  Well, 
if  it  drops  off  only  an  eighth,  he  makes  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  right  there.  But  if  it  drops  a  full  point, 
or  to  ninety-nine  a  share,  and  the  customer  is  charged 
one  hundred,  the  brokers  make  a  thousand.  Should 
it  drop  after  the  customer's  order  is  filled,  however,  our 
friend  Perkins  stands  the  loss. 

"This  is  called  'scalping  the  eighths.'    Who  is  there 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  303 

to  know  for  whom  an  order  is  filled  but  the  trader 
himself?  The  market  has  to  be  very  quick,  though,  to 
make  these  deals  possible.  And  remember,  only  the 
unscrupulous  brokers  thus  take  advantage  of  a  cus- 
tomer.   The  honest,  reputable  firms " 

"Now,  Jackson,"  Lyle  broke  in,  "this  is  sub  rosa, 
you  know,  and  I'm  after  the  whole  truth  in  a  good 
cause." 

Jackson  spread  his  outstretched  hand  before  his  face 
and  peered  at  Lyle  between  the  fingers.  "The  repu- 
table firms  don't  do  it,"  he  repeated,  shaking  his  head 
and  grinning  like  a  gargoyle  the  while.  "But  remem- 
ber," he  added,  still  grinning,  "that  when  they  do  do 

it,  the  market  has  to  be  very  quick." 

********* 

One  day  Lyle  saw  a  sad  eyed,  pale  faced  woman  in 
widow's  dress  watching  the  throng  of  shouting,  ges- 
ticulating brokers  in  Broad  street  who  composed  what 
was  known  as  the  Curb  market.  When  she  dropped 
a  large  and  bulky  envelope,  and  he  picked  it  up  and 
restored  it  to  her,  she  thanked  him  with  a  wistful  smile 
and,  liking  his  earnest  and  sympathetic  face,  she  spoke 
to  him. 

"There  is  little  of  value  in  those  papers,"  she  said, 
"but  once  I  thought  they  represented  a  fortune.  That 
was  before  I  learned  that  widows  are  the  special  prey 
of  some  of  the  'Napoleons  of  finance.'  Our  woe  is 
used  as  a  key  to  open  to  them  the  treasure  left  to  guard 
us  from  want." 

Then  she  told  him  how,  after  her  husband's  death, 
an  agent  for  a  Boston  promoter  had  come  to  her  with 
a  story  that  her  husband  had  been  about  to  invest  in 
his  new  manufacturing  concern.  She  had  admired 
the  promoter  for  his  attacks,  in  a  series  of  magazine 


304  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

articles,  upon  the  Wall  Street  system.  "Surely,"  she 
had  thought,  "so  altruistic  and  fearless  a  man  must 
be  honest,"  and  she  invested  twenty  thousand  dollars, 
which  was  nearly  all  her  husband  had  left. 

"The  stock  was  sold  on  the  Curb,"  she  said,  "and 
thousands  were  attracted  by  this  man's  advertisements. 
Well,  after  I  had  waited  vainly  for  dividends  for  more 
than  a  year,  and  watched  my  stock  go  down  and  down 
and  down,  I  became  suspicious  and  asked  to  see  the 
manufacturing  plant.  And  when  the  agent  took  me 
over  to  a  New  Jersey  town  where  it  was  said  to  be 
located,  I  found  an  almost  hollow  shell  of  a  building 
in  which  a  few  men  were  pounding  on  pieces  of  iron, 
and  doing  other  things  to  make  a  noise,  but  nothing 
was  being  manufactured,  and  I  am  sure  the  men  had 
been  hired  just  for  that  day  to  make  me  believe  my 
stock  was  worth  something.  Now  I'm  trying  to  have 
the  promoter  arrested,  but  friends  tell  me  that  he  and 
many  of  those  like  him  are  too  powerful  to  be  prose- 
cuted— that  even  if  they  were  tried,  their  trial  would 
be  a  farce.  I  have  learned  that  at  least  a  hundred 
widows  have  lost  their  money  as  I  lost  mine." 

When  Lyle  told  this  story  to  Jackson,  the  latter  said, 
"For  each  person  who  lost  money  that  way,  there  will 
be  dozens  ruined  by  Steel." 

"And  tell  me  just  how  that  is  being  manipulated?" 

"It  is  done  by  telephone,"  said  Jackson.  "Stine 
has  an  office  in  some  obscure  place.  There  is  an  inner 
room  fitted  up  with  ten,  twenty  or  perhaps  thirty  tele- 
phones. He  and  several  assistants,  at  a  signal  from 
Gorman,  begin  giving  orders  to  one  set  of  brokers  to 
sell  so  many  thousands  of  shares  of  Steel  at  a  certain 
figure,  and  then  immediately  they  order  another  set  of 
brokers  to  buy  just  as  many  shares  at  the  same  price. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  305 

The  brokers  themselves  seldom  know  just  who  is  be- 
hind the  operator,  nor  do  they  care  so  long  as  he  is 
able  to  pay  commissions  and  margins.  Well,  when 
Stine  has  license  to  'burn  unlimited  powder,'  as  he 
doubtless  has  now,  the  orders  come  thick  and  fast. 
Suppose  fifty  thousand  shares  are  to  be  sold,  and  the 
same  amount  bought  upon  the  first  orders,  the  com- 
missions amount  to  twelve  thousand,  five  hundred  dol- 
lars. But  this  is  simply  the  cost  of  the  first  shot  in  the 
campaign.  The  orders  increase  from  hour  to  hour, 
from  day  to  day,  and  the  prices  rise  and  rise,  until 
legions  of  real  buyers  have  been  enticed  into  the  game, 
when  the  orders  from  Stine  are  to  sell,  and  sell,  and 
sell,  and  when  the  real  buyers  have  bought,  and 
bought,  and  bought,  why  Steel  will  go  down,  and 
down,  and  down,  and  when  it  is  at  the  lowest  mark 
agreed  upon,  the  orders  from  Stine  are  to  buy,  and 
buy,  and  buy,  and  the  shares  thrown  over  by  the  de- 
spairing investors  are  bought  for  the  Gorman  crew, 
and  then  prices  are  forced  up,  and  up,  and  up  again 
until  more  legions  are  lured  into  the  game,  and — 
and  so  on  as  long  as  there  are  any  victims  in  sight." 

"Why,  that  is  like  baiting  a  trap  for  animals,"  said 
Lyle.  "It  is  worse  than  shooting  from  ambush.  It  is 
monstrously  cruel  and  mean.  It  is  a  kind  of  puppet 
show,  in  which  the  real  buyers  engage  in  a  dance  of 
death." 

"Yes,"  Jackson  agreed,  "it  is  a  dance  of  death,  for 
it  means  the  end  of  life  for  many  of  those  who  are 
ruined." 

And  the  more  Lyle  thought  of  it  the  more  it  ap- 
peared to  him  as  a  gigantic  puppet  rhow  in  which 
Death  led  the  dance.  He  decided  to  write  of  it  as 
such,  not  necessarily  for  publication,  but  merely  for 


306  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

the  pleasure  of  literary  creation.     He  called  his  com- 
position "The  Dance  of  the  Marionettes." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE    DANCE    OF    THE    MARIONETTES 

And  every  day  behind  the  scenes  the  Old  Gray 
Wolf  of  Wall  Street  works  upon  his  wires.  One  wire 
he  touches,  and  that  gilded  hall  of  trade,  the  Stock 
Exchange,  is  transformed  into  Bedlam.  A  hundred 
men  are  made  to  shout  and  dance  and  gesture  fiercely 
as  they  strive  to  buy  at  prices  that  he  names,  the  self 
same  stocks  which  other  puppets  sell  at  his  behest. 

And  what  these  traders  do  and  say  goes  forth  on 
other  wires  that  lead  to  almost  everywhere  that  people 
congregate.  The  flaring  sheets  of  daily  papers,  some 
in  blood  red  ink,  display  the  fact  that  "Steel  Is  Going 
Up."  Yes,  there  it  is,  in  figures  that  convince — 
for  surely  figures  never  lie!  Yes,  Steel  is  going  up, 
and  those  who  bought  at  fifty  now  lament  that  they 
did  not  buy  more,  for  fifty-one  is  being  offered  by  the 
brokers.  And  soon  these  prices  may  go  up,  and  so 
they  rush  to  buy  again,  the  while  new  buyers  join 
them  in  an  ever-growing  scramble. 

Stock  tickers,  too,  imprini  the  news  on  little  strips 
of  tape,  and  click  and  sputter  at  their  task  as  though 
to  gain  the  notice  of  the  passersby,  and  then  they  purr 
like  tigers  might  when  luring  victims  into  jungle  lairs. 
Thus  in  the  streets  of  many  cities,  in  the  lobbies  of 
hotels,  in  clubs,  saloons,  cafes,  in  legislative  halls,  and 
even  in  the  tea  rooms  where  the  women  meet  to  talk 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  307 

of  fashion  and  finance,  the  humming  wires  intone  their 
song  of  growing  wealth  for  all  who  purchase  Steel. 

And  all  these  folk  are  heard  to  babble  much  of 
bulls  and  bears,  of  margins,  puts  and  calls,  of  slumps 
and  rallies  and  reactions.  All  the  lingo  of  the  broker 
seems  as  easy  to  their  tongues  as  though  each  one  had 
spent  a  lifetime  learning  it.  And  yet  how  few  could 
tell  wherein  a  stock  is  different  from  a  bond !  Their 
clinking  glasses  and  their  laughter  and  gay  chatter 
mingle  with  their  boasts  of  riches  made  in  Wall  Street, 
and  their  boasts  of  greater  riches  yet  to  come.  They 
dream  of  pitfalls  and  of  ambuscades  no  more  than  do 
the  sheep  who  follow  when  the  shepherd's  horn  invites 
to  shambles. 

They  do  not  dream  of  how  the  joyous  sounds  in 
which  they  join  will  soon  be  changed  to  doleful  har- 
monies. They  do  not  dream  that  many  lips  which 
now  so  gaily  babble  will  be  heard  in  mournful  lamenta- 
tions, or  be  silent  in  despair  or  death.  They  do  not 
dream  of  how  the  wails  of  widows  and  of  orphans 
will  ascend  to  heaven,  nor  of  how  the  tears  of  these 
will  mingle  with  the  blood  of  husbands  and  of  fathers 
whom  remorse  has  made  to  slay  themselves.  And 
while  the  graveyards  yawn  for  many,  prison  doors 
and  almshouse  gateways  will  swing  inward  for  a 
greater  host,  and  rapine  will  join  hands  with  murder 
in  the  making  of  a  hideous  carnival.  But  not  of  these 
things  do  the  babblers  dream. 

The  dance  of  speculation  grows  apace.  New  buyers 
hourly  join  the  masquerade,  and  these  are  quickly 
furnished  partners  who  instruct  them  in  the  mazes  of 
a  strange  and  wondrous  waltz.  And  in  their  madness 
these  new  dancers  cannot  tell  the  painted  marionettes 
from   beings   of  flesh   and   blood — from  beings   with 


308  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

hearts  and  souls.  The  wires  hum  on,  and  sweeter 
their  orchestral  music  seems,  for  "Steel  Is  Going  Up" 
is  still  their  theme. 

Of  many  kinds  the  throng  of  dancers  is  made  up. 
There  goes  an  office-holder  who  is  gambling  with  the 
people's  gold,  and  after  him  a  bank  clerk  who  has 
robbed  the  vaults.  And  here's  a  widow  still  attired 
in  weeds  of  woe,  who  risks  her  children's  future  to 
pursue  the  lure  of  speedy  wealth.  Behind  her,  leaning 
in  sweet  confidence  upon  a  puppet's  arm,  we  see  a 
staid  and  sober  business  man  among  the  dizzy 
waltzers.  And  next  there  comes  the  judge  of  some 
provincial  court — provincial  surely,  he  must  be,  else  he 
would  never  join  in  such  a  dance.  And  now  we  see — 
can  this  be  true,  or  do  our  eyes  deceive  us? — no,  it  is, 
it  is,  a  bishop  of  the  church,  in  holy  vestments,  in- 
dulging here  a  passion  which  in  others  he  decries. 
And  next,  with  painted  face,  and  eyes  that  glitter  with 
a  new-found  vice,  a  prostitute  comes  dancing  madly 
with  a  marionette  to  whom  she  gives  the  proceeds  of 
her  life  of  shame. 

Ah,  yes,  it  is  a  strange  and  wondrous  company,  and 
hourly  grows  the  throng.  And  'round  and  'round  they 
waltz,  and  'round  and  'round.  If  some  grow  weary 
and  drop  out,  their  pockets  filled  with  money  by  their 
kindly  partners,  many  new  recruits  are  there  to  take 
their  places. 

And  'round  and  'round  they  waltz,  and  'round  and 
'round,  and  'round  and  'round  and  'round.  And  every 
one  is  going  to  be  rich,  and  every  one  is  buying,  save 
a  few  of  course  who  sell.  And  so  the  siren  wires  hum 
on,  and  Steel  goes  up,  and  Steel  goes  up,  and  Steel  goes 
up,  and  Steel  seems  never  coming  down. 

But  now,   just  when  the  most  ecstatic  harmonies 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  309 

swell  forth,  and  joy  is  unconfined,  the  music  changes. 
The  long  reaches  of  the  peaks  of  bliss  have  been 
ascended,  and  the  downward  slopes  have  come  in  view. 
And  yet  the  dancers  are  so  blinded  with  delight  they 
cannot  see  these  slopes  until  too  late.  And  suddenly 
the  master's  wrist  is  twisted  and,  obedient  to  his  will, 
the  marionettes  all  turn  in  unison  upon  their  partners,' 
seize  them  in  a  hard,  metallic  grip,  and  ravish  them 
of  all  their  money,  then  with  ruthless  hands  they  fling 
them  down  the  heights  to  ruin,  despair  and  death. 
The  dance  is  over. 


END   OF    BOOK    FIFTH 


BOOK   SIXTH 
THE  EMPEROR 


CHAPTER  I 

THE   PATRON   OF   ART 


Art  now  became  the  object  of  C.  Jefferson  Gorman's 
most  devoted  attention.  Like  Napoleon  who,  after  his 
successful  Italian  campaigns,  ravaged  the  galleries  of 
Italy  for  the  enrichment  of  France,  he  traveled  abroad 
to  gather  paintings  and  statuary  to  add  to  the  artistic 
wealth  of  his  country. 

He,  too,  went  to  Italy,  for  there,  he  had  heard,  were 
still  to  be  found  many  of  the  rarest  treasures  of  art. 
First  he  visited  Rome,  and  called  upon  the  American 
Ambassador,  who  had  once  been  counsel  for  one  of  his 
railways. 

"See  here,  John,"  he  said,  "I  must  have  some  of 
the  best  pictures  and  statues  in  this  whole  country, 
no  matter  what  they  cost — understand?  You  must 
help  me  out  in  this  thing.  I'll  send  agents  scouting 
everywhere,  and  I  want  you  to  take  charge  of  those 
in  Italy,  and  send  me  the  bills  for  whatever  expense 
you  are  put  to.  I'm  going  to  see  the  Pope  in  a  few 
days,  and  perhaps  I  can  get  some  of  the  Vatican 
statues." 

He  visited  the  Vatican,  and  the  Pope,  who  had 
3" 


312  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

heard  much  of  the  great  American  financier,  received 
him  pleasantly,  and  showed  him  about  his  wonderful 
gardens  and  galleries.  But  His  Holiness  would  not 
part  with  one  of  his  treasures  in  marble  or  on  canvas 
for  any  consideration.  His  fine,  thin,  spiritual  visage 
was  filled  with  horror  at  the  suggestion.  Had  the 
spirits  of  Comus  and  of  Momus,  or  any  of  the  several 
fauns  and  satyrs  whose  marble  forms  were  in  view 
possessed  the  power  to  tenant  and  enliven  those  like- 
nesses, there  must  have  been  some  twistings  of  mar- 
morean  lips  when  the  proposition  was  made. 

No,  the  financier  could  not  buy  the  Vatican  treas- 
ures, but  his  agents  made  great  inroads  upon  the  gal- 
leries in  other  parts  of  the  kingdom.  More  than  two 
millions  were  thus  spent  in  a  few  months.  The  Italian 
government  was  aroused,  and  it  hastily  passed  a  law 
against  the  exportation  of  art  works  except  those  by 
modern  artists.  Gorman  next  proceeded  to  France 
and  England,  and  so  many  real  treasures  did  he  and  his 
trained  aids  acquire,  along  with  the  scores  of  spurious 
works  that  they  were  induced  to  buy,  that  leagues  of 
wealthy  art  lovers  were  formed  to  outbid  his  agents 
whenever  the  work  of  any  old  master  was  put  on  sale. 
His  opponents  were  not  often  successful,  for  his  share 
of  the  Steel  manipulation  pool  was  some  thirty  millions, 
which  did  not  include  the  many  more  millions  he  had 
acquired  in  promoter's  shares.  And  he  was  bent  on 
becoming  known  as  a  patron  of  art,  even  if  he  had  to 
spend  a  hundred  millions. 

From  Europe  he  went  to  Egypt.  He  stood  before 
the  Sphinx.  And  then  he  gazed  upon  the  Pyramids, 
and  saw  forty  centuries  looking  down  upon  him.  From 
there  he  went  to  Memphis  and  to  Thebes,  and  before 
he  left  he  had  hired  agents  to  buy  and  ship  to  America 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  313 

two  hundred  packing  cases  of  relics  of  the  Pharaohs. 
Four  funeral  offering  chambers  of  sculptured  lime- 
stone from  the  Matasaba  tombs,  and  the  ante-rooms  to 
the  resting  places  of  Rameses  and  his  son,  built  two 
thousand,  seven  hundred  years  before  Christ,  were 
shipped  entire.    All  this  cost  another  million. 

The  choicest  treasures  he  placed  in  a  marble  gal- 
lery which  he  built  for  himself  adjoining  his  new 
palace  overlooking  the  Hudson.  The  other  art  works 
he  presented  to  the  American  Museum  of  Art.  The 
grateful  directors  made  him  honorary  president  of 
their  institution,  and  they  hung  in  the  main  gallery 
the  flattering  portrait  of  himself  painted  fifteen  years 
before  by  a  famous  French  artist,  the  portrait  which 
showed  the  forelock  hanging  over  his  brow. 

At  the  same  time  he  engaged  the  cleverest  wigmaker 
of  Paris  to  create  a  work  of  art  which  he  did  not 
intend  to  exhibit  as  such.  His  hair  had  vanished 
rapidly  in  the  past  few  years,  until  there  was  but  a 
narrow  fringe  at  the  back  of  his  head.  The  wigmaker 
was  told  to  restore  the  forelock,  and  the  rest  of  the 
missing  hair,  by  degrees.  He  created  a  series  of  wigs, 
of  increasing  thickness,  and  as  these  were  donned 
from  time  to  time,  it  appeared  to  the  public  that  the 
great  Mr.  Gorman's  hair  was  growing  in  again.  Oc- 
casionally there  were  rumors  to  the  contrary,  but  so 
deftly  had  the  wigmaker  done  his  work  that  no  one 
except  his  wife  and  valet  knew  the  truth. 

A  few  years  after  he  had  begun  his  tremendous 

purchases  of  art  works  one  of  his  literary  aids  wrote 

of  him  • 

"America's  debt  to  this  great  patron  of  art  can  scarcely 
be  estimated.  The  pictures  and  statues,  the  rare  books 
and  manuscripts  he  has  collected  show  him  to  be  a  real 
connoisseur,    and    not     a    mere     dilettante.       His     genius 


314  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

created  a  network  of  information  reaching  from  Great 
Britain  to  Greece,  and  even  to  Egypt.  His  possessions 
are  the  most  wonderful  of  all  collections,  formed  by  the 
most  wonderful  collector  of  our  time  or,  it  may  be,  of  any 
time.  There  is  no  one  with  whom  we  can  compare  him 
except,  perhaps,  Lorenzo  de  Medici,  and  he  surpasses 
even  that  prince  in  the  catholicity  of  his  taste.  But  he  is 
like  "II  Magnifico"  in  the  knowledge  he  possesses  of 
books,  and  pictures,  and  prints,  and  faience,  and  tapes- 
tries; indeed  of  every  object  he  collects.  Among  the 
rarest  treasures  of  his  own  library  are  the  Golden  Gospels 
of  the  seventh  century." 

To  be  sure,  at  times  there  were  other  things  of  quite 
a  different  nature  whispered  about  him.  Among  cer- 
tain circles  shoulders  would  be  shrugged  when  his 
philanthropy  was  mentioned,  and  tales  would  be  told 
in  bated  breath  of  his  buying  a  yacht  for  an  actress, 
or  of  an  endowment  for  a  hospital  upon  the  condition 
that  the  physician  in  charge,  who  had  a  fascinating 
wife,  should  take  a  year's  trip  abroad.  But  who  would 
dare  to  give  publicity  to  scandalous  things  about  so 
great,  and  so  religious — and  so  powerful,  a  person- 
ality ?  Even  when  the  possibility  of  his  wearing  a  wig 
was  mentioned  in  an  important  literary  journal  there 
were  many  papers  like  the  Evening  Hope  to  brand 
the  writer  as  a  vulgar  person,  unfit  to  associate  with 

people  of  the  least  refinement. 

********* 

Mrs.  Lionel  Barton,  noted  for  her  impassioned  im- 
personation of  Madame  de  Pompadour  in  the  play  of 
that  name,  happened  to  be  cruising  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean on  the  occasion  of  one  of  Gorman's  visits  to 
Egypt.  Her  yacht,  the  d'Aulnay,  so  called  after  one 
of  the  chateaus  of  the  Pompadour,  had  been  finished 
that  spring  at  a  cost  of  more  than  half  a  million,  and 
had  been  appropriately  furnished  in  the  style  of  Louis 
XV.     Gorman  had  left  his  wife  in  Naples,  and  at 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  31 5 

Cairo  he  chanced  to  learn  that  the  d'Aulnay  was  in 
port.  The  noted  actress  had  a  party  of  very  select 
friends  on  board,  but  it  happened  that  the  stateroom 
next  to  hers  was  not  occupied,  and  her  good  friend 
Mr.  Gorman  consented  to  occupy  it  from  Cairo  to 
Rome.  There  was  a  handsome  and  youthful  steward 
who  waited  on  the  other  guests,  and  an  old  and  rheu- 
matic steward  who  served  Gorman  and  Mrs.  Barton. 

"The  most  enjoyable  voyage  in  my  recollection,  dear 
Mrs.  Barton,"  said  Gorman  in  sincere  tones  as  he 
stepped  over  the  d'Aulnay's  side  to  board  a  launch 
that  was  to  take  him  to  the  seaport  of  Rome.  And 
her  musical  laugh,  displaying  her  red  lips  and  pearly 
teeth,  and  the  half  closing  of  her  languorous  eyes  as 
though  in  ecstatic  memory,  and  the  quickened  rise  and 
fall  of  her  bosom  beneath  its  thin  covering  of  chiffon 
were  her  only  reply.  Mrs.  Barton  was  a  really  clever 
actress. 

And  as  soon  as  Gorman's  launch  was  well  on  its 
way  to  shore  she  turned  to  the  handsome  young 
steward,  who  had  made  so  bold  as  to  stand  beside 
her,  and  said  to  him  with  a  yet  more  ravishing  smile, 

"Now  dear,  since  I've  earned  this  yacht  and  more 
too  on  this  one  trip,  come  and  console  me.  Take  off 
that  livery  and  put  on  your  charming  yachtsman's 
suit.  Let  us  sail  back  to  Egypt,  oh,  my  Anthony,  and 
I'll  be  your  Cleopatra  and  yours  only !" 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   FATE   OF   REFORM    MAGAZINES 

"It  is  like  having  horses  shot  out  from  under  you 
in  battle,"  remarked  Delaval. 


316  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

"What?"  Lyle  asked.  "The  way  in  which  maga- 
zines are  bought  from  under  us,  and  we  are  left  'in 
the  air'  ?" 

"Yes,  and  the  worst  feature  of  it  to  my  mind  is  that 
we  are  placed  in  the  light  of  blackmailers,  and  classed 
with  that  agitator  who  is  now  taking  a  trip  around 
the  world  with  the  proceeds  of  his  latest  scheme,  the 
attack  on  the  meat  trust  in  Bunson's  Magazine.  I  see 
that  some  of  the  Gorman  papers  have  begun  to  charge 
that  every  reform  magazine  is  started  with  the  object 
of  being  bought  off.  The  trouble  is  that  we  haven't 
enough  funds  of  our  own  to  establish  a  magazine. 
We  must  get  others  to  take  a  majority  of  the  stock, 
and  the  majority  of  holders,  no  matter  how  sincere 
they  seem  to  be  in  the  beginning,  are  always  purchas- 
able in  the  end." 

"That  appears  to  be  a  confirmation  of  your  favorite 
maxim,  Del.  The  majority,  even  among  our  chosen 
associates,  seem  untrustworthy.  The  Fonvard  Maga- 
zine was  sold  out  after  a  year  and  a  half  by  our 
friends  Burke  and  Sanford.  Toward  the  last,  I  found 
old  Sanford  reading  the  stock  market  news  more  regu- 
larly than  manuscripts.  Then  we  started  Holton's, 
naming  it  for  the  publisher  upon  condition  that  he 
would  raise  a  majority  of  the  funds,  and  he  sold  us 
out  within  a  year.  And  now  the  Advocate  is  about 
to  be  surrendered  to  Gorman's  agents.  I  suppose  that 
if  we  were  to  lecture  on  ethics  at  religious  meetings, 
and  grow  rich  on  Wall  Street  advertisements  and 
stocks,  and  keep  silent  on  really  vital  questions  like 
Dr.  Tyson  Gabbitt,  the  pharisee  who  edits  the  Uplift, 
we  would  be  much  more  generally  respected." 

"The  cleverness  of  the  last  move  is  what  confounds 
me,"  said  Delaval.     "You  see,  Gorman  is  spiking  our 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  317 

batteries  by  a  flank  movement.  This  time  we  are 
to  be  'consolidated'  with  another  periodical,  and  that 
other  is  the  Advance,  recently  started  with  a  name  like 
ours  to  confuse  the  public  mind.  After  the  consoli- 
dation the  name  Advocate  will  be  dropped,  and  the 
new  company  will  be  listed  on  the  Stock  Exchange. 
Thus  you  will  behold  the  spectacle  of  the  monster 
swallowing  its  enemy.  Many  people  think  that  the 
Advance  is  reformatory  because  it  exposes  evils  such 
as  the  traffic  in  young  girls  for  prostitution,  but  the 
worst  kind  of  prostitution,  that  of  the  minds  of  our 
leaders  of  thought  and  action,  will  go  unexposed." 

The  years  that  had  passed  since  they  began  their 
magazine  campaign  had  left  its  mark  upon  the  two 
friends.  Although  he  was  still  much  under  forty 
years  of  age,  Delaval's  brown  hair  and  mustache  were 
gray  streaked,  and  in  addition  to  the  lines  of  cynicism 
which  had  hardened  about  his  mouth  there  were  deep- 
ened furrows  in  his  forehead.  Lyle  had  a  few  gray 
hairs,  too,  though  these  could  not  be  detected  save 
by  close  inspection  of  his  blond  head.  But  about  the 
corners  of  his  eyes  several  little  wrinkles  had  gathered, 
and  on  his  brow  were  impressed  the  first  faint  mark- 
ings of  the  stern  lines  of  care. 

Besides  attacking  the  many  evils  of  the  Stock  Ex- 
change, Lyle  and  Delaval  had  traveled  all  over  the 
country,  and  had  ruthlessly  exposed  corruption  wher- 
ever they  found  it.  And  nearly  every  time  that  their 
investigations  went  far  enough,  the  trail  led  to  the 
Wall  Street  throne.  They  fearlessly  published  all  the 
facts,  although  they  could  not  charge  Gorman  with 
personal  knowledge  of  the  money  spent  in  his  interest 
except  the  large  contributions  to  political  parties  which 
they  proved  that  he  and  his  friends  had  given.    Their 


318  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

exposures,  which  were  supplemented  at  times  by  simi- 
lar articles  in  other  magazines,  and  by  news  items  which 
even  the  most  conservative  journals  had  to  print,  over- 
turned half  a  dozen  States  and  helped  to  drive  from 
the  Presidency  one  of  Gorman's  favorite  aids.  It 
was  after  this  feat  that  the  Advocate's  purchase  was 
decided  on  by  "the  throne." 

The  two  friends  were  now  seated  in  their  private 
editorial  office.  In  an  adjoining  room  directors  rep- 
resenting the  majority  stockholders  were  voting  to  sell 
out  to  the  Advance  Publishing  Company.  After 
speeches  of  protest  Delaval  and  Lyle  had  retired  to 
await  the  inevitable,  and  to  plan  still  another 
magazine. 

"I  feel  more  like  taking  to  drink  again  than  I  have 
for  years,"  Delaval  said  moodily,  as  he  gazed  with 
unseeing  eyes  at  the  throngs  in  the  square  below. 
"Here  are  all  the  magazines  going  the  way  of  the 
newspapers,  which  find  it  more  profitable  to  serve 
Gorman  and  his  allies  than  to  serve  the  public.  And 
the  people — what  are  they  but  a  polyglot  collection 
of " 

"Ah,  but  think  of  the  ruin  prevented,  the  lives 
saved,  the  seeds  of  reform  sown  for  future  harvest- 
ing," protested  Lyle,  whose  soul  still  burned  with  un- 
quenchable idealism. 

"The  lives  saved!"  repeated  Delaval.  "Why,  man, 
do  you  know  that  there  were  two  hundred  murders 
in  New  York  the  year  following  the  Steel  and  Copper 
manipulations  and  the  hard  times  resulting  there- 
from? Belgium,  Scotland  and  Holland  together  have 
but  few  more  murders  in  a  year  than  that.  And  the 
mysterious  disappearances — there  must  be  a  surpris- 
ing total  of  those,  if  we  could  only  know." 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  3X9 

"Things  would  be  even  worse  if  we  had  not  done 
what  we  have  done.  But  speaking  of  mysterious 
disappearances,"  and  Lyle's  voice  was  lowered,  as 
there  was  only  a  thin  partition  between  their  room  and 
the  next ;  "I  would  not  be  greatly  surprised  if  I  were 
some  day  among  the  missing  or  the  'accidentally 
killed.'  You  know  that  Mercedes  and  I  live  in  the 
Noble  Arms  apartment  house — but  believe  me,  I  did 
not  select  the  place  on  account  of  its  name,  but  in 
spite  of  it.  Well,  sometimes  I  go  home  very  late. 
One  night  two  weeks  ago  I  had  just  passed  under  the 
big  stone  archway  of  the  entrance  when  a  large  stone 
from  the  arch  fell,  grazing  my  heel.  The  building  is 
new,  and  there  is  no  good  reason  why  the  stone  should 
have  become  loosened,  in  the  natural  order  of  events, 
for  a  century.  The  room  just  over  the  archway  had 
recently  been  engaged  for  six  months  by  a  mysterious 
person,  but  the  next  day  it  was  vacated  without 
notice." 

"I,  too,  have  had  my  experience,"  said  Delaval.  "It 
was  different  from  yours,  but  I  think  the  same  motive 
may  have  been  behind  it.  It  was  on  the  night  of  the 
Fourth  of  July,  and  there  was  much  noise  from  fire- 
works, so  that  no  one  in  the  street  up  Harlem  way, 
along  which  I  was  walking  home,  noticed  a  revolver 
shot  that  cut  a  hole  through  the  top  of  my  hat.  I 
have  said  nothing  to  anyone  about  this,  for  I  have 
thought  that  some  of  the  patriotic  noise  makers  in  the 
crowded  street  may  have  been  using  real  bullets  with 
no  evil  intent.    Now  I  think  differently. 

"  'These  be  days  that  try  men's  souls,'  "  he  went  on, 
"and  yet  you  want  to  keep  on  fighting  for  the  better- 
ment of  things  under  a  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment.     I    tell   you   the   time   has    come   to    circulate 


320  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

pamphlets  advocating  a  monarchy.  You  doubt  it? 
Well,  come  with  me  to  Newport,  and  if  you  are  still 
unconvinced  after  what  we  see  there,  then  I  will 
abandon  all  hope  of  converting  you." 

"To  Newport?  I  didn't  know  you  had  any  friends 
there." 

"I  know  one  family.  They  are  from  Virginia,  and 
their  parents  were  friends  of  my  parents.  They  have 
a  villa  in  the  social  colony,  but  they  care  little  for 
the  other  residents,  and  stay  there  only  two  or  three 
weeks  each  summer.  After  this  year  they  will  give  up 
their  villa  and  spend  their  summers  abroad.  But  they 
have  been  invited  to  the  opening  of  Gorman's  new 
summer  palace  next  week,  and  they  say  they  will  take 
me  along.    Would  you  like  to  go?" 

"How  could  either  of  us  ever  be  admitted  to  Gor- 
man's palace?" 

"I've  been  pondering  that,  and  I  have  a  plan  which 
I  think  is  worth  trying.  The  John  Lamars — that's  the 
name  of  my  friends — really  have  no  use  for  Gorman, 
and  I  think  they'll  approve  of  it.  We  can  darken  our 
faces  and  pretend  to  be  Italian  gentlemen  of  leisure, 
and  let  it  be  suspected  that  we  are  titled  persons 
incogniti.  This  will  assure  us  of  deferential  treatment 
and  a  good  time." 

"It  would  be  quite  a  diversion,"  said  Lyle,  "but  I 
fear  that  I  couldn't  disguise  myself  well  enough,  or 
live  up  to  the  disguise  if  I  did." 

"Nothing  easier,"  declared  his  friend,  taking  a  book- 
let from  an  inside  pocket.  "Here  I  have  the  secret 
formulae  of  numerous  disguises,  which  I  obtained  in 
a  way  I'll  not  mention  just  now.  Let  us  see,"  read- 
ing from  the  booklet :  "  'Quills  in  nostrils  change  the 
shape  of  the  nose.     Wax  behind  the  ears  will  hold 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  321 

them  back  and  give  the  face  a  new  appearance.  Paraf- 
fine  injected  under  the  skin  gives  fulness  to  any  de- 
sired part.  The  mouth  can  be  changed  in  shape  by 
rubber  bands  along  the  gums.  The  hands  or  face  may 
be  given  the  look  of  age  by  an  application  of  a  solu- 
tion of  henna,  alum  and  sulphuric  acid,  which  will  not 
harm,  though  giving  a  temporary  yellow  hue  to  the 
skin.'  But  that  isn't  just  what  we  want.  Ah,  here 
is  is,"  and  he  read  a  recipe  for  merely  darkening  the 
skin. 

Three  days  later,  the  Lamars  having  approved  the 
plan  and  added  a  cordial  invitation  to  Lyle,  the  two 
friends  boarded  a  steamer  for  Newport,  disguised  as 
Italian  gentlemen. 


CHAPTER  III 


NEWPORT 


Newport,  approached  by  water  from  the  east, 
seems  to  be  nothing  more  than  a  sleepy  old  seaport, 
like  many  another  along  the  New  England  coast. 
About  the  wharves  are  a  mass  of  dingy  stores,  in  the 
background  a  little  hillside  city  of  gray  and  white 
buildings,  set  among  clustering  trees,  and  here  and 
there,  rising  above  all,  a  slender  church  spire. 

On  any  bright  summer  morning  may  be  seen  tanned 
old  sea  dogs  pottering  about  catboats  and  launches 
which  have  been  drawn  out  of  the  water  for  repairs. 
There  is  no  hint  anywhere  that  this  quiet  little  town 
was  once  a  port  with  maritime  commerce  rivaling  that 
of  Boston  and  New  York.  Yet  such  it  was  before 
the  blockades  of  the  British  fleets  in  the  Revolutionary 


322  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

War.  And  in  the  walls  of  mouldy  cellars  along  its 
wharves  may  still  be  found  the  heavy  iron  rings  and 
chains  that  secured  slaves  newly  brought  from  Africa 
while  their  importers  and  prospective  masters  bar- 
gained in  the  rooms  above. 

Except  for  the  sight  of  an  occasional  splendid 
yacht  with  a  famous  name  gilded  across  its  stern 
there  is  no  hint,  either,  of  the  real  character  of  the 
Newport  of  to-day,  until  your  boat  passes  the  broken 
lines  of  warehouses,  stoop-shouldered  shops,  and 
gambrel-roofed  houses,  and  sails  on  toward  the  south 
and  west.  Then  there  come  into  view  great  rugged 
cliffs  and  outreaching  points  that  challenge  the  sea. 
Cattle  once  grazed  in  the  sun  upon  those  heights,  but 
there  was  little  vegetation,  for  only  the  hardy  pine 
could  endure  in  that  unsheltered  waste  through  all  the 
year.  And  in  a  simple  garden  bordering  the  cliffs 
George  Bancroft,  historian,  diplomat,  linguist  and 
philosopher,  worked  lovingly  among  his  roses  and 
mused  upon  the  republic's  future. 

But  what  a  wonderful  transformation  has  since 
been  wrought!  As  you  approach  closer  you  see  that 
wealth  has  claimed  these  shores  for  its  own,  and,  as 
with  a  magic  wand,  has  touched  cliffs  and  plateaus 
and  undulating  plains,  and  beautified  them  with 
princely  villas,  smiling  gardens  and  lovely  landscapes. 
Flowers  from  almost  every  clime  now  bloom  among 
the  gray  crags,  and  riot  among  the  statuary  of  the 
gardens,  and  trees  of  tender  habit  and  shrubs  and 
palms  from  the  tropics  surround  stately  mansions  and 
towering  palaces. 

It  was  upon  this  scene  and  not  upon  the  ancient 
town  that  Lyle  gazed  first,  for  the  steamer  that  he 
and  Delaval  were  on  came  from  a  southwesterly  di- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  323 

rection.      "And   there,"   said    Delaval    as    they    sailed 
past,  "is  the  summer  capital  of  American  society." 

At  the  wharves  they  hired  a  one-horse  carriage 
driven  by  a  negro  in  nondescript  livery,  and  were 
taken  through  the  narrow,  winding  streets  toward  the 
new  residential  section.  They  passed  an  aged  dwelling 
on  a  point  overlooking  the  sea,  the  cellar  of  which  was 
one  of  the  many  reputed  burying  places  of  Captain 
Kidd's  treasure.  The  ground  has  been  dug  up  many 
times,  but  nothing  was  ever  found.  Further  ahead, 
where  gambrel-roofed  houses  were  surrounded  by 
hedged  gardens,  was  Coddington  Point.  The  Marquis 
de  Lafayette  and  the  Count  de  Rochambeau  and  the 
Vicomte  de  Noailles  used  to  frequent  the  pleasures  of 
the  point,  which  in  Revolutionary  days  was  the  court 
end  of  town. 

They  came  to  a  place  where  high  white  stucco  walls 
partly  hidden  behind  trees  and  overgrown  with  trail- 
ing vines  marked  the  dividing  line  between  some  of 
the  big  estates  and  the  old  town,  whose  bustling  life 
was  thus  shut  out  from  view. 

As  they  drove  on,  their  surroundings  became  more 
and  more  magnificent.  They  saw  French  chateaux, 
Italian  and  Spanish  villas,  English  manor  houses  in 
Elizabethan,  Queen  Anne  and  Georgian  styles,  and 
Gothic  castles,  set  amid  lawns  enriched  by  all  the  art 
of  the  landscape  gardener.  Most  of  these  estates  were 
approached  by  long  driveways,  at  the  entrances  to 
which  were  keepers'  lodges,  and  these  were  as  com- 
modious as  the  dwellings  of  many  well-to-do  persons. 

Numerous  automobiles  and  carriages  were  adorned 
with  crests,  and  many  were  the  liveried  coachmen  and 
footmen.  Lyle  also  observed  several  uniformed  naval 
officers. 


324  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

"Is  there  some  official  function  going  on,  do  you 
suppose?"  he  asked. 

"Not  necessarily.  Those  officers  are  here  all  the 
time  simply  for  decorative  purposes.  The  govern- 
ment, to  please  the  society  leaders,  maintains  a  squad- 
ron in  this  vicinity  during  the  season,  for  the  officers" 
uniforms  look  well  as  a  background  for  the  ladies' 
costumes.  It  is  said  that  the  officers  are  sometimes 
put  to  other  uses,  such  as  recommending  certain  kinds 
of  steel,  or  of  oil,  or  of  ammunition  in  their  official 
reports  as  members  of  boards  for  the  purchase  of 
supplies." 

They  observed  that  there  were  more  French  cha- 
teaux than  any  other  kinds  of  houses.  Many  of  them 
were  palatial ;  all  were  at  least  worthy  of  being  called 
mansions.  But  this  society,  some  of  whom  had  been 
accustomed  to  regal  or  ducal  revenues  for  as  long 
as  one  generation — more  or  less — liked  to  show  its 
familiarity  with  and  disregard  of  magnificence  by  re- 
ferring to  its  summer  homes  as  cottages. 

"You  will  observe,"  said  Delaval,  "that  there  is  but 
one  house  in  colonial  style  in  all  this  vicinity.  It  is  the 
one  to  which  we  are  going,  the  house  of  our  friends, 
the  Lamars.  Ah,  I  think  that  is  Mrs.  Lamar  on  the 
lawn  near  that  marble  statue.  Remember  now,  that 
while  she  knows  our  identity,  to  others  we  are  the 
Signores  Roderigo  and  Guido  Bellucci  of  Milan.  We 
understand  English  perfectly,  though  we  speak  it 
hesitatingly,  and  with  a  very  slight  accent.  I  don't 
think  we  shall  meet  any  one  who  uses  Italian,  but  if 
somebody  should  begin  to  talk  it  to  you,  and  I  am 
not  near  enough  to  interfere  in  the  conversation,  get 
away  from  the  person  at  once,  even  if  you  should  have 
to  feign  illness." 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  325 

They  alighted  at  the  entrance  to  the  driveway,  dis- 
missed the  carriage,  and  walked  toward  the  house. 
Mrs.  Lamar  came  down  the  driveway  to  meet  them. 
She  was  tall,  and  dark  eyed,  and  beautifully  formed, 
and  her  complexion  was  so  soft  and  satiny  that  it 
seemed  that  only  the  gentlest  of  southern  zephyrs 
had  ever  blown  against  her  cheeks.  In  a  simple  gown 
of  pink  muslin  she  made  an  alluring  picture,  and  when 
she  spoke  her  voice  was  so  low  and  sweet  that  Lyle 
was  reminded  of  Mercedes. 

"Good  afternoon,  Signores  Bellucci,"  she  said,  with 
a  twinkle  in  her  eyes.  "Welcome  to  Fairfield,  as  we 
call  our  home.  After  you  have  been  shown  to  your 
rooms  we  will  go  for  a  drive. 

"I  have  received  permission  to  bring  my  two  Italian 
friends  in  place  of  my  husband,"  she  informed  them 
as  they  came  down  stairs.  "The  manager  of  affairs, 
after  consulting  with  the  Emperor,  said  that  any 
friends  of  mine  would  be  welcome," 

"The  Emperor?"  repeated  Lyle.  T>o  they  call  him 
that  already  ?" 

"Yes,  quite  a  number  of  them  do.  I  don't  mean, 
though,  that  his  manager  of  affairs  called  him  that.  I 
was  just  using  the  title  I've  often  heard  given  him  by 
others.  They  say  it's  on  account  of  his  autocratic 
temper.  My  husband  tells  me  that  he  is  often  referred 
to  that  way  in  Wall  Street,  too.  By  the  way,  I  re- 
ceived a  telegram  from  Mr.  Lamar  this  morning  which 
worries  me  a  little.  He  was  suddenly  called  to  Rich- 
mond yesterday  to  attend  a  directors'  meeting  at  the 
Virginia  Central  offices.  He's  vice-president,  you 
know.  But  there  was  no  real  business  for  directors 
to  transact,  and  he  can't  understand  whv  he  was  sum- 


326  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

moned  down  there.  He  adds  that  I  am  to  be  careful 
of  C.  J.  G." 

"Why,  has  Gorman  paid  you  any  attentions  ?"  asked 
Del  aval. 

"He  has  invited  us  to  his  New  York  home  oftener 
than  we  have  gone,  and  he  has  looked  at  me  intently 
and  insinuatingly  at  times.  He  has  even  offered  my 
husband  the  presidency  of  one  of  his  Northern  roads 
at  a  salary  advance  of  ten  thousand.  But  an  accept- 
ance would  mean  that  we  would  have  to  live  in  New 
York." 

The  ride,  in  a  simple  two-seated  carriage,  ever  after- 
ward formed  one  of  the  most  vivid  memories  of  Lyle's 
kaleidoscopic  career.  First  they  drove  along  by  the 
sea,  and  saw  a  fleet  of  yachts  riding  at  anchor.  These 
were  of  all  sizes,  from  the  cockle-shells  in  the  sheltered 
bay  to  the  stately  seagoing  craft  far  out  upon  the 
white-capped  waves,  and  they  numbered  near  two  hun- 
dred. 

"The  fleet  of  the  American  Yacht  Club  here  to 
honor  its  Commodore,"  explained  Mrs.  Lamar. 
"When  he  returned  in  his  own  yacht  last  evening 
there  was  a  great  demonstration — the  firing  of  salutes, 
dipping  of  flags,  and  so  on.  A  great  banquet  was  ten- 
dered him  on  the  Gotell  yacht,  and  many  other  dinners 
were  given  afloat  and  ashore." 

"I  have  heard  that  thirty  millions  are  represented 
in  that  fleet,''  remarked  Lyle.  "It  certainly  looks  like 
a  costly  aggregation." 

"I  would  say  it  was  nearer  fifty  millions,"  she  said. 
"And  every  half  dozen  years  or  so  that  much  more 
is  spent  upon  the  yachts,  for  they  have  to  be  rebuilt 
or  entirely  overhauled  that  often.  And  yet  none  of 
the  owners  were  admitted  to  the  hospitalities  at  Cowes 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  327 

during  regatta  week  this  year,  except  Gorman  him- 
self." 

"How  do  you  account  for  that?" 

"Well,  the  Royal  Yacht  Squadron  is  terribly  ex- 
clusive, and  no  Americans  belong  to  it,  although  some 
other  foreigners  are  members,  and  without  the  favor 
of  royalty  itself  visitors  are  made  to  feel  that  they 
are  outsiders.  Americans  have  been  so  persistently 
turned  down  that  they  all  decided  to  stay  away  this 
year,  except  the  Commodore." 

"Is  he  then  in  the  royal  good  graces?  How  does 
that  happen?"  Delaval  wanted  to  know. 

Mrs.  Lamar  merely  shook  her  head  negatively  as  if 
to  indicate  that  here  was  a  secret  of  state  beyond  her. 

"I  think  I  can  answer  that,"  said  Lyle.  "In  Wall 
Street  it  is  rumored  that  the  King  knew  when  to  buy 
and  when  to  sell  Steel  stocks,  and  that  he  cleaned  up  a 
million.  Naturally  he  feels  grateful  to  his  fellow 
monarch." 

They  drove  along  a  high  road  overlooking  a  bath- 
ing beach.  Many  persons  were  disporting  themselves 
on  the  sands,  but  few  were  in  the  water.  Two  games 
of  tennis  were  in  progress,  the  players  attired  in  bath- 
ing suits.  The  legs  of  some  of  the  men  were  almost 
entirely  bare,  their  exertions  having  worked  up  their 
tight-fitting  nether  garments  to  the  thighs.  In  the 
silken  stocking  of  one  of  the  feminine  players  there 
was  a  hole  above  the  knee,  but  she  continued  playing 
until  a  mosquito  bit  her  in  the  exposed  place,  when  she 
stopped  to  scratch  the  wound.  "I  don't  blame  the 
mosquito,  by  Jove,"  remarked  her  partner,  and  she 
joined  in  the  general  laughter. 

Other  bathers,  still  in  their  beach  costumes,  were 
walking  in  the  streets  far  above  the  sands.     This  was 


328  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

not  the  public  beach.  Only  the  summer  colony  could 
bathe  here,  and  only  here  was  there  any  surf  bathing. 
The  public  beach  for  the  villagers  and  the  ordinary 
visitors  was  some  distance  east. 

In  the  streets  they  noticed  a  number  of  richly 
dressed  women  walking  about  with  their  hair  flowing 
down  their  backs.  Mrs.  Lamar  explained  that  it  was 
a  new  custom  among  the  exclusive  set.  A  few  weeks 
earlier  the  fad  was  to  play  golf  wearing  veils  like 
Mohammedan  women.  "Another  diversion,"  she  said, 
"is  to  give  imitation  rural  fairs,  so  the  society  girls 
can  dress  as  dairy  maids.  I  understand  that  is  be- 
cause the  same  thing  used  to  be  done  by  Marie  An- 
toinette at  the  Little  Trianon. 

"But  when  it  comes  to  imitating  the  days  of  the  old 
French  monarchy,"  she  continued  as  they  drove  along, 
"the  Plaster  chateau  over  there,  that  enormous  house 
in  the  Renaissance  style,  beats  them  all.  The  regimen 
of  Versailles  in  the  time  of  Louis  Sixteenth  is  their 
guide.  Mrs.  Plaster  has  copied  it  out  of  an  old  book. 
As  she  employs  two  hundred  servants  she  can  make 
things  look  like  the  original,  too.  She  has  a  dame 
d'atours  to  put  on  her  petticoat,  a  dame  d'honneur  to 
prepare  the  water  to  wash  her  hands  and  assist  her  on 
with  her  linen,  a  fcmme  de  chambre  who  supervises 
her  wardrobe,  and  so  on.  Sometimes  she  breakfasts  in 
her  bath,  as  Marie  Antoinette  did,  with  the  tray  ar- 
ranged on  the  edge  of  the  tub.  Her  bath,  like  that  of 
the  queen,  is  scented  with  serpolet,  laurel  leaves,  wild 
thyme  and  marjoram. 

"After  the  bath,  attired  in  a  silk  gown  trimmed  with 
lace,  and  wearing  dimity  slippers,  she  returns  to  bed, 
to  read  a  book  or  do  tapestry  work,  as  the  Queen  did. 
Nothing  is  presented  directly  to  her.     Her  handker- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  329 

chief  or  gloves  are  handed  her  on  a  long  salver  of 
gold  or  gilt.  When  she  dresses  her  chief  tirewoman 
holds  up  a  cloth  to  conceal  her  entirely  from  the  sight 
of  the  other  women.  This  chief  tirewoman  is  charged 
with  the  care  and  examination  of  all  her  diamonds, 
while  the  one  next  in  rank  attends  to  all  her  dresses. 
She  is  attended  and  pampered  in  every  way  like  the 
Queen  was  at  Versailles,  and  among  her  most  prized 
jewels  were  some  worn  by  the  Princess  de  Lamballe 
and  other  close  friends  of  the  consort  of  Louis  Six- 
teenth. What  makes  the  affair  more  grotesque  is  the 
fact  that  the  lady  in  yonder  castle  weighs  about  two 
hundred  pounds,  and  when  she  talks  French  she  can 
hardly  be  understood  by  her  own  servants,  who  are 
mostly  of  that  nationality.  Her  maitre  de  hotel  is 
furnished  with  a  large  staff,  which  is  his  badge  of 
office  for  announcing  that  dinner  is  served.  Instead 
of  the  golden  fleur-de-lis  as  an  ornament  it  has  the 
heraldic  decoration  of  the  Duke  of  Oxbury,  for  whom, 
as  a  husband  for  her  daughter,  she  paid  several  mil- 
lions in  railway  bonds." 

"And  what  is  this  place  surrounded  by  the  marble 
wall  ?"  Lyle  asked. 

"It  is  the  De  Blick  marble  palace,  built  ten  years 
ago  for  the  marriage  of  Cleopatra  De  Blick  with  the 
Duke  of  Burlboro.  But  it  has  never  been  occupied 
since.  After  the  Duke  got  hold  of  his  wife's  dowry  of 
three  millions  in  railway  bonds,  he  took  his  wife 
abroad,  repaired  his  own  castles,  and  then  set  to  pur- 
suing other  women,  leaving  her  to  be  snubbed  by  her 
new  acquaintances.  She  recently  divorced  him  and 
returned  a  broken-hearted  woman.  That  is  the  mar- 
riage Gorman  wanted  his  daughter  to  make,  so  we 
hear,  but  I  think  she  was  lucky  in  escaping  it.'' 


330  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

A  few  minutes  later  they  came  in  sight  of  the 
largest  palace  of  all.  It  was  a  splendid  marble  pile 
which  fronted  upon  the  sea,  and  yet  so  magnificent 
was  it  on  the  other  sides  that  any  of  them  might 
have  been  taken  for  the  front.  Both  massive  and 
ornate  it  was,  and  in  pure  French  Renaissance  style, 
with  flying  buttresses,  pinnacles,  clustered  columns  and 
deeply  recessed  portals  decorated  like  those  of  Louis 
XIV's  chateau  at  Marly.  Its  topmost  towers  now 
glistened  in  the  afternoon  sun  far  above  the  tall  trees. 

"The  Gorman  cottage,"  said  Mrs.  Lamar.  "It  has 
been  five  years  in  building  and  it  cost  more  than  the 
palace  of  Versailles." 

"Well,  he  made  enough  out  of  Steel  alone  to  pay  for 
several  such  palaces,"  Delaval  said.  "And  his  income 
is  now  greater  than  the  combined  income  of  all  the 
sovereigns  of  Europe." 


CHAPTER  IV 

INSIDE   THE    PALACE 

"It  seems  like  another  country — almost  like  another 
planet,"  said  Lyle  as  they  were  motored  along  the 
boulevard  overlooking  the  sea.  In  the  distance  across 
the  rippling  waters  that  were  now  being  turned  to  sil- 
ver by  a  rising  moon,  twinkled  the  lights  of  the  great 
fleet  of  yachts  at  anchor.  On  the  landward  side,  in 
the  soft  radiance,  there  stood  forth  the  towers  and 
pinnacles  of  many  stately  mansions. 

"So  far  as  the  public  knows,  it  is  another  country," 
Mrs.  Lamar  rejoined.  "The  garbled  reports  some- 
times printed  in  newspapers  of  the  doings  here  give 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  331 

little  idea  of  what  goes  on.  Some  of  the  new  arrivals 
in  the  colony  like  to  be  written  up,  but  the  leaders 
really  don't  want  the  masses  to  know  about  their  en- 
tertainments." 

Then  she  told  of  a  gardenia  dinner  given  in  honor 
of  a  Russian  Grand  Duke.  The  flower  markets  of  three 
cities  were  ravished,  and  the  walls  and  ceilings  of  the 
dining  room  and  ballroom  were  covered  with  the  beau- 
tiful wax-like  blooms.  Ten  thousand  dollars'  worth 
at  least  were  crushed  beneath  the  dancers'  feet.  To 
add  to  the  glorious  effect,  a  huge  globe  suspended  over- 
head suddenly  burst  and  showered  American  Beauty 
roses  upon  everyone. 

At  another  affair,  which  was  in  honor  of  the  Mar- 
quis de  Neufchatel,  an  entire  theatrical  troupe,  with 
scenery  and  costumes,  was  imported  from  New  York. 
A  stage  was  erected  on  the  lawn  and  a  comic  opera 
was  produced  by  a  hundred  players. 

"Here  we  are  at  last,"  Lyle  interrupted  to  say,  r.s 
the  palace  gateway  loomed  ahead.  Then  the  buzzing  of 
the  scores  of  automobiles  which  crowded  the  drive- 
way drowned  all  conversation  for  a  while.  "Every 
one  comes  in  some  kind  of  a  carriage,"  Mrs.  Lamar 
whispered  after  a  time.  "To  go  anywhere  on  foot  in 
Newport  means  to  lose  your  social  reputation." 

Arrived  at  the  entrance,  they  alighted  and  were 
ushered  between  rows  of  lackeys  under  a  grand  arch 
on  which  was  sculptured  Danae  being  showered  by 
the  gold  of  Zeus.  They  entered  the  main  hallway, 
which  was  done  in  yellow  marble  brought  from  Africa, 
and  hung  with  Gobelin  tapestries  made  in  the  factory 
founded  by  Louis  XIV.  This  fact  was  explained  by 
a  Mrs.  Twarlton,  a  loquacious  blonde,  who  had  joined 
them  at  the  entrance,  and  who  talked  to  Mrs.  Lamar 


332  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

and  the  "Signores  Bellucci"  as  all  were  swept  along 
by  the  river  of  guests. 

Up  a  broad  stairway  of  solid  bronze  they  went,  and 
Mrs.  Twarlton  said  the  panels  contained  trophies  from 
the  palace  of  Versailles,  taken  by  special  permission  of 
certain  powerful  officials.  And  at  the  top,  against  the 
wall  at  the  right,  was  a  large  clock  supported  by  gold 
nymphs.  It  was  once  in  the  Trianon.  Opposite  the 
clock  was  a  pastorale  by  Francois  Boucher,  which  was 
owned  by  a  Marquise  who  was  an  intimate  friend  of 
Marie  Antoinette.  A  large  mirror  along  the  hallway, 
bordered  by  hippogriffs  of  gold,  once  hung  in  the 
Tuileries. 

Many  lackeys  clad  in  the  Gorman  livery  of  blue  and 
gold  were  waiting  at  the  top  of  the  stairs  to  escort 
the  guests  severally  to  apartments  where  they  could 
lay  off  their  wraps.  Friends  rejoined  friends  in  the 
hallways,  whence  they  proceeded  to  the  grand  salon, 
where  the  host  and  hostess  were  receiving  in  state. 

The  salon's  ornate  ceiling  was  partly  hidden  by  Vir- 
ginia ivy  and  orchids,  among  which  sparkled  electric 
lights  in  flower  shapes.  Under  these  lights  stood 
Gorman  and  his  wife.  "How  tired  and  aged  she 
looks,  compared  with  a  year  ago,"  whispered  Mrs. 
Lamar,  who  was  on  Delaval's  arm.  Lyle  was  just 
behind  them  with  Mrs.  Twarlton,  who  had  agreed  to 
be  his  partner  for  the  evening,  her  husband  having 
been  unable  to  attend.  The  ladies  wore  decollette 
gowns  of  mousseline,  and  the  men  were  attired  in 
light  flannels,  for  it  was  a  midsummer  night,  and  the 
air  was  balmy. 

"But  he  looks  no  older,"  replied  Delaval,  and  an 
instant  later  their  turn  came  to  be  presented.  A 
lackey  called  out  the  names  whispered  to  him  by  the 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  333 

guests  as  they  advanced,  and  there  was  a  simple  hand- 
shake from  the  host  and  hostess,  who  murmured  a 
conventional  "Pleased  to  meet  you,"  and  then  the 
guests  moved  on  to  make  room  for  those  crowding 
behind. 

Gorman  did  not  glance  a  second  time  at  either 
Lyle  or  Delaval,  but  his  face  lighted  up  with  some- 
thing more  than  pleasure  when  he  saw  Mrs.  Lamar. 
He  clung  to  her  hand  and  bent  toward  her  as  though 
for  a  whispered  conference,  but  she  merely  bowed 
and  smiled,  then  dexterously  slipped  her  hand  from 
his,  and  walked  on. 

The  guests  passed  from  the  grand  salon  into  an 
"orangerie"  patterned  after  that  at  Versailles.  It 
was  filled  with  palms  and  rare  orchids  and  other 
tropic  flowers.  From  here  the  line  of  visitors  wended 
its  way  into  an  apartment  finished  in  carved  wood. 
The  ceiling  was  painted  by  Tintoretto,  and  had  been 
ravished  from  some  Italian  palace.  It  showed  Diana 
and  her  huntresses  lounging  about  in  half  nude  aban- 
don after  a  chase.  Men  of  bronze  and  children  of 
marble  supported  the  ponderous  mantelpiece,  and  here 
and  there  were  carved  gods  and  goddesses  of  old 
Greece  reclining  against  the  walls  in  gilded  grace. 
The  feet  of  the  guests  left  their  impress  on  a  Savon- 
nerie  rug  bearing  the  arms  of  "Le  Grande  Monarque" 
for  whom  it  was  specially  woven.  The  tapestried 
chairs  had  once  been  sat  upon  by  lords  and  ladies  in 
some  ducal  palace. 

"He  must  have  made  wrecks  of  several  French 
chateaux  in  getting  all  these  things,"  muttered 
Delaval. 

"He  probably  got  all  that  was  left  after  the  De 
Blicks   and   others   had   been   there,"   amended   Mrs. 


334  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

Lamar.  "Hardly  a  cottage  in  Newport  but  boasts 
some  relic  of  pre-Revolution  days.  He  seems  to  have 
outdone  all  of  them,  though." 

They  next  entered  a  Gothic  room.  Through  stained 
glass  windows  that  had  once  graced  some  ancient 
cathedral  a  dim  light  was  shed  from  lamps  cleverly 
arranged  on  the  outer  sides  to  give  the  impression  of 
daytime.  From  the  wall  Lucca  della  Robbia's  "Virgin 
and  Child"  gazed  upon  the  visitors.  There  was  much 
antique  bric-a-brac,  every  article  of  which,  Mrs. 
Twarlton  said,  antedated  the  discovery  of  America. 

"Here  is  a  room  given  over  to  a  display  of  por- 
celain, jewels  and  objects  of  vertu — not  necessarily 
meaning  virtue,"  said  Delaval  as  they  stepped  into 
another  apartment.  "It  reminds  me  of  a  similar  room 
in  the  Kaiser's  palace  in  Berlin.  Can  you  tell  us,  Mrs. 
Twarlton,  where  some  of  these  things  came  from?" 

"In  some  cases,  perhaps,  but  not  many,"  she  re- 
plied. "But  yonder  is  Morrison,  who  is  a  kind  of 
lord  high  steward.  If  I  can  get  him  away  from  those 
women — ah,  here  he  comes.  Morrison,  where  did  this 
set  of  Sevres  before  us  come  from?" 

"Oh,  that,  ma'am,"  and  the  steward's  plump,  smooth 
face  lightened  up  with  the  pleased  vanity  he  felt  at 
being  able  to  give  information  on  such  a  subject; 
"that  whole  set  of  a  hundred  pieces  is  decorated  as 
you  see  with  gold  ivy  leaves  and  bears  the  ciphers  of 
Louis  Philippe,  having  been  made  for  his  special  use 
at  the  Tuileries.  This  other  set  of  thirty  pieces,  bear- 
ing the  eagles,  was  made  for  Napoleon  when  he  was 
First  Consul.  And  here's  seven  platters  and  twelve 
plates  of  old  Wedgewood  that  were  part  of  a  set  be- 
longing to  William  Henry,  Duke  of  Clarence,  after- 
ward King  William  the  Fourth.     Now,  these  dozen 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  335 

of  Sevres  cups  and  saucers,  as  you  observe,  have  por- 
traits in  miniature  by  Perier  of  Napoleon  and  his 
family.  Here's  the  Emperor,  and  this  lady  is  Josephine, 
and  then  there  is  Hortense,  and  then  Prince  Eugene, 
and  next  is  the  little  King  of  Rome,  then  Marie  Louise, 
and  the  others  have  the  pictures  of  the  Emperor's 
brothers." 

"I  can  tell  you  about  some  of  these  things,"  said 
Mrs.  Twarlton,  as  Morrison  was  seized  upon  by  other 
visitors.  "Here  is  a  Louis  Fifteenth  snuff  box,  this 
oval  piece  made  of  gold.  It  is  enameled  en  plein, 
with  subjects,  as  you  see,  of  pastoral  lovers,  and  chil- 
dren, and  landscapes.  It  cost  ten  thousand  at  an  auc- 
tion at  Christie's.  Gorman's  agents,  you  know,  are 
everywhere  in  the  old  world,  looking  for  bargains  and 
ready  to  overbid  all  others  when  they  see  what  he 
wants.  I  think  this  one  still  prettier — this  gold  tablet 
case,  enameled  en  plein,  with  four  oval  panels  of 
domestic  scenes  after  Chardin,  with  still  life  in  smaller 
panels.  The  ground  is  chased  with  fluting  and  foliage 
in  gold  of  two  colors,  and  with  laurel  wreaths  around 
the  borders.  I've  heard  that  this  belonged  to  Marie 
Antoinette.  The  price,  I  was  told,  was  twenty-two 
thousand  dollars — just  think !  I  would  prefer  for  my 
own  use  the  one  next  to  it,  done  by  a  Dutch  artist 
of  Rembrandt's  time.  It  is  much  prettier  and  yet  it 
cost  only  half  as  much. 

"And  this  music  room/'  she  continued  as  they 
passed  into  the  adjoining  apartment,  "is  largely  deco- 
rated with  things  taken  from  the  chateau  of  Louis 
Fourteenth  at  Marly." 

Just  as  they  were  passing  from  this  apartment  to 
the  grand  ballroom,  the  gilded  ceiling  of  which  was 


336  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

fully  thirty  feet  high,  dinner  was  announced,  and  all 
began  retracing  their  steps  toward  the  dining  room. 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  DINNER 


Through  a  long,  dimly  lighted  hall  whose  tall  win- 
dows overlooked  a  moonlit  terrace  and  the  sea,  the 
gay  company  strolled  toward  the  dining  room.  The 
women,  with  coiffures  lavishly  bedizened,  and  their 
gleaming  white  shoulders  pearl  hung  or  diamonded, 
were  as  gorgeous  silver  pheasants  floating  along  to 
the  strains  of  music,  their  mousselines  and  laces  and 
chiffons  and  jeweled  fans  shimmering  in  the  pale 
radiance  like  fluttering  wings.  Whence  came  this 
music  ?  No  one  seemed  to  know,  and  yet  it  called  out 
an  insistent  and  alluring  welcome,  now  loudly,  now 
softly,  as  though  from  an  indefinable  distance.  The 
very  air  pulsated  with  harmony  and  the  guests,  as  if 
fearing  to  disturb  it,  talked  in  low  tones  as  they  were 
buoyed  along  on  the  waves  of  sound. 

The  violins  throbbed  and  sobbed,  and  the  piccolos 
quavered  a  querulous  wail.  Then  all  the  flutes  and 
stringed  instruments  joined  in,  and  the  far  reaches 
of  the  peaks  of  harmony  were  scaled.  The  soul  of  a 
long  dead  genius  communed  with  the  listeners,  and  in 
their  souls  hidden  and  unguessed  beauties  bloomed. 
They  felt  remorse  for  crimes  they  had  never  com- 
mitted, and  joy  for  victories  they  had  never  won. 
They  glimpsed  beautiful  and  terrible  fantasies,  and 
were  borne  on  wings  of  music  to  other  lands  and 
climes  and  times.    Birds  of  brilliant  plumage  sang  to 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  337 

them  in  tropic  gardens,  and  Elysian  waterfalls 
gurgled,  and  nymphs  and  satyrs  frolicked  on  the 
green. 

And  now  suddenly,  as  they  stepped  from  the  long 
corridor  into  a  grand  apartment,  their  music-inspired 
visions  seemed  about  to  be  realized.  The  great  dining 
hall  was  like  an  enchanted  land.  It  had  been  made 
into  a  garden  of  palms  and  flowers,  in  the  center  of 
which  a  fountain  tossed  luminous  spray  almost  to  the 
ceiling.  A  soft  blue  radiance  was  over  all,  and  when 
their  eyes  became  accustomed  to  this  they  saw  that 
thousands  of  electric  bulbs  had  been  tinted  to  produce 
a  twilight  effect.  And  when  they  had  been  seated 
about  the  long  tables,  one  end  of  the  room  was  lighted 
up  with  an  immense  transparency  depicting  a  street  in 
Venice.  Between  that  and  the  first  row  of  tables 
was  a  canal  filled  with  water,  upon  which  floated  a 
gondola  containing  a  party  of  troubadours.  This 
scene  had  scarcely  burst  upon  the  view  when  the  or- 
chestral music  ceased,  and  the  playing  of  guitars  and 
mandolins  was  heard,  and  then  a  soulful  tenor  voice 
sang  an  Italian  melody,  while  gondoliers  plied  the 
craft  backward  and  forward. 

There  was  a  buzz  of  pleased  comment,  out  of  which 
Lyle  caught  the  words,  "Well,  he's  got  'em  all  beaten. 
This  is  better  than  that  dinner  to  the  Russian  Grand 
Duke.    It  must  have  cost  twice  as  much." 

Mrs.  Lamar  and  her  friends  were  seated  near  the 
head  of  the  central  table,  but  not  until  several  mo- 
ments had  elapsed  did  she  realize  that  she  was  next 
to  Gorman  himself.  And  when  he  bent  down  so  that 
his  face  was  in  the  light  of  the  shaded  imitation 
candle  between  them,  and  smiled  at  her,  she  felt  a 
strange  terror  such  as  a  child  might  feel  if  confronted 


338  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

by  an  orgre  in  an  enchanted  forest.  Only  by  a  great 
effort  did  she  refrain  from  screaming.  But  after  a 
merely  formal  greeting  she  turned  to  Delaval  with  a 
calm  face,  whispered  her  discovery,  and  moved  her 
chair  a  little  nearer  to  his. 

"You  will  notice,"  said  Delaval  to  Lyle,  "that  the 
filet  d'anchois  a  V  huile  is  served  a  la  Pompadour, 
and  the  chicken  patties  are  a  la  reine,  but  the  lobster 
is  a  I'  americaine. 

"Just  listen  to  the  conversation  about  you  for  a 
while,"  he  added.  "You  will  not  hear  American  poli- 
tics or  American  books  being  discussed,  or  any  such 
ordinary  topics.  Those  are  left  to  rural  debating 
societies,  and  to  the  simple  minded  generally.  But 
in  this  company  you  will  hear — what  you  will  hear." 

Just  then  the  troubadour  ceased  singing,  and  the 
orchestra  began  an  accompaniment  to  a  soprano  voice 
that  sang  "I  Dreamt  That  I  Dwelt  in  Marble  Halls." 
The  diners  looked  up  and  saw  the  singer  in  a  Vene- 
tian balcony  on  one  side  of  the  wall.  The  troubadour 
sang  the  responsive  part  from  the  gondola. 

"That  must  have  cost  our  host  three  or  four  thou- 
sand," Lyle  heard  some  one  say.  "Those  singers  are 
the  highest-priced  grand  opera  stars." 

Conversation  continued  unabated  during  the  sing- 
ing.   Lyle  heard : 

"I  like  Corot's  landscapes  because  his  trees  are  so — 
uh — uh — so  majestic,  you  know."  ("That  is  Mrs. 
Pillbridge  Perry,"  whispered  Mrs.  Twarlton.) 

"Oh,  yes,  I  love  Corot.  We  have  ten  of  them." 
("Mrs.  Gotell,  who  bought  the  Marquis  of  Osleigh 
for  her  daughter,"  whispered  Mrs.  Twarlton.) 

"Ah,  Corot?  Yes,  I  have  hear  zat  he  ees  ver-ry 
populaire  in  America,"  said  a  foreign  voice.     ("A  Bel- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  339 

gian  count,"  whispered  Mrs.  Twarlton.)  "I  hear  zat 
ten  thousand  Corot  have  been  sold  in  America." 

"Well,  I  knew  he  was  a  great  painter — I've  got 
some  of  his  highest-priced  pictures  myself,  but  I 
never  heard  that  he  had  turned  out  so  many  as  that." 
("That's  Bryson,  the  tobacco  and  street  railway  king," 
whispered  Mrs.  Twarlton.  "He  knows  a  great  deal 
more  about  the  Stock  Exchange  than  he  does  about 
art") 

Lyle  glanced  at  the  count,  whose  expression  was 
inscrutable. 

"I  read  the  most  beautiful  story  by  Alfred  de  Mus- 
set  the  other  day,"  said  a  feminine  voice  back  of  Lyle. 
"It  told  of  an  affaire  a" amour  at  Versailles  in  the  reign 
of  Louis  Quinzc.  After  she  was  firmly  established  in 
the  King's  affections,  it  seems  that  the  Pompadour  met 
a  young  poet,  whose  verses  had  won  him  recognition 
by  the  beau  monde.  He  had  been  sent  to  a  ball  at 
the  palace  by  his  friend,  the  Due  d'Alencon,  who  was 
just  then  suffering  under  the  displeasure  of  Louis.  He 
was  to  deliver  a  message  to  a  certain  marquis,  a  femme 
galante  of  the  court.  This  marquis  was  to  procure 
the  aid  of  the  Pompadour  in  returning  an  answer  to 
the  Due.  So  the  poet  was  summoned  to  the  apart- 
ments of  the  King's  favorite  after  the  ball.  She  had 
told  him  of  a  secret  entrance,  known  only  to  herself 
and  the  King,  and  entering  long  after  midnight,  our 
poet  found  her  en  deshabille.  'Ah,  now  you  have  seen 
this  mole  under  my  left  shoulder,'  she  said.  'Only  my 
husband,  the  King,  and  you  know  that  I  have  this.' 
And  pledging  him  to  secrecy " 

A  general  burst  of  laughter  at  the  table  before  him 
over  a  joke  being  told  by  the  Belgian  Count  drowned 
out  the  rest  of  this  interesting  narrative.     "That  is 


34Q  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

Geraldine  De  BHck,"  Mrs.  Twarlton  had  whispered. 
"She  is  to  marry  a  Polish  Count.  Her  sister's  unhappy 
union  with  the  Duke  of  Burlboro  does  not  discourage 
her." 

Another  feminine  voice,  two  chairs  to  Lyle's  right, 
was  saying: 

"One  of  the  best  books  I  have  read  lately  is  The 
Fascinating  Due  de  Richelieu.  It  tells  of  the  amours 
of  this  gallant  man  in  such  an  interesting  period  of 
history.  Having  met  so  many  of  the  descendants  of 
the  persons  mentioned,  it  was  particularly  interesting 
to  me.  The  Memoirs  of  Madame  de  Maintenon  is 
scarcely  its  equal.  ("That's  the  Countess  de  Cambe- 
foy,  who's  just  been  divorced,"  whispered  Mrs.  Twarl- 
ton. "Her  husband  took  a  million  of  her  money  and 
built  a  Petit  Trianon  for  his  mistress  in  imitation  of 
the  one  that  Louis  Sixteenth  built  for  Marie  An- 
toinette. But  her  experience  hasn't  kept  her  from  be- 
coming engaged  to  the  Marquis  de  Gorlona,  who  is 
after  the  rest  of  her  fortune.  She's  Gluten's  daughter, 
you  know.") 

"I've  read  that  book,"  a  man's  voice  responded, 
"and  what  struck  me  as  most  interesting  was  the 
Duke's  way  of  winning  the  ladies.  Now,  how  do  you 
suppose  he  did  it?" 

"How?"  inquired  a  woman. 

"By  despising  them,"  was  the  reply.  "He  showed 
that  he  cared  nothing  for  them,  and  that  made  them 
throw  themselves  in  his  way,  and  yield  to  him  all  the 
quicker." 

"What  a  terrible  reflection  on  our  sex,"  commented 
the  woman  playfully. 

The  relative  merits  of  the  Decameron  and  the  Hep- 
tameron  were  being  debated  at  still  another  table,  and 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  341 

directly  across  from  Lyle  an  elderly  woman  ablaze 
with  diamonds  was  saying,  "Poor  little  Prince  Louis 
— how  his  jailers  did  mistreat  him!"  (That's  Mrs. 
Stellmount,"  whispered  Mrs.  Twarlton.) 

"Yes,  indeed,  it  was  pitiful,"  replied  a  woman  next 
to  her.  "Not  only  did  they  make  him  drunk  and  teach 
him  ribald  songs,  but  they  forced  him  to  sign  state- 
ments against  the  Queen  Mother  herself.  I  suppose 
you  refer  to  Madame  Campans  Memoirs?" 

"Yes,  the  book  by  the  lady-in-waiting  to  Marie  An- 
toinette." ("It's  the  second  Mrs.  De  Blick  the 
younger  that  she's  talking  to,"  whispered  Mrs.  Twarl- 
ton. "Mrs.  Stellmount  was  herself  the  first  Mrs.  De 
Blick,  until  she  found  her  husband  in  a  room  with  an- 
other woman.  After  the  divorce  she  married  again, 
and  so  did  her  ex-husband,  and  now  the  two  families 
are  all  on  good  terms.  Right  next  to  her  is  the  junior 
Mr.  Plaster,  who  has  just  bought  a  law  for  fifty  thou- 
sand from  the  New  York  Legislature  that  will  give 
him  a  secret  trial  of  his  divorce  suit,  so  that  the  scan- 
dalous part  of  it  will  never  be  known.") 

The  table  back  of  them  was  now  convulsed  with 
laughter,  and  when  it  had  subsided  somewhat,  a 
masculine  guest  cried  in  maudlin  tones,  "That  was  a 
bong  mo  for  you — about  the  Pompadour's  lanzheray," 
and  a  young  woman,  pretending  to  be  shocked,  turned 
to  a  neighbor  and  said,  "I  don't  like  these  stories  of 
doobl  ongtond,  do  you?"  The  reply  was,  "Non,  non. 
It  is  too  boorzhwazay." 

A  convivial  young  man  opposite  Mrs.  Lamar  leaned 
toward  her,  and  lifting  his  champagne  glass,  recited: 

"Drink  t'  me  only  wiz  zine  eyes, 
An'  I'll  pledge  you  wiz  mine, 
Or  leave  a  kissh  'r  two  in  your  cup 
An'  I'll  not  ask  for — for — an'  111  not  ask — for  a  drink." 


342  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

Lyle  noticed  him  shrink  back  as  he  finished  the 
stanza,  and  to  learn  the  cause  looked  first  at  Mrs. 
Lamar,  and  then  at  Gorman.  In  the  latter's  eyes  he 
saw  such  an  expression  of  baleful  fury  that  he  felt 
this  must  have  produced  the  shrinking  sensation  in 
the  vis-a-vis. 

A  moment  later  Mrs.  Lamar  leaned  toward  Delaval, 
and  as  he  turned  to  look  at  her  he  observed  that  the 
delicate  pink  had  gone  from  her  cheeks,  which  were 
now  as  white  as  the  mousseline  of  her  gown.  Her 
bosom  was  rising  and  falling  tumultously.  "What  do 
you  suppose  has  happened?"  she  whispered.  "He — 
he — Mr.  Gorman  has  just  been  taking  liberties  with 
my  person !  If  the  dinner  were  not  nearly  over  I 
would  leave  at  once.  But  I  feel  strangely  weak  and 
excited.     I — I '' 

"Let  us  go  out  on  the  terrace,"  said  Delaval.  "I 
suppose  the  Emperor  is  affected  by  the  two  quarts  of 
champagne  he  has  drunk.  They  say  he  is  seldom 
satisfied  nowadays  with  one  quart." 

They  were  starting  to  rise,  when  at  the  same  instant 
it  was  announced  that  coffee  would  be  served  in  the 
garden.  All  the  guests  then  rose  and  sauntered  out 
through  the  loggias,  and  down  the  marble  steps  to 
the  moonlit  lawn. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE    PURSUIT 


The  rays  of  the  moon  made  silvern  the  leaves  of 
the  oaks  and  bays,  and  gave  an  added  whiteness  to  the 
graceful  statuary,  which  in  places  was  brought  into 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  343 

strong  relief  by  the  somber  cedars.  And  there  was 
mystery  and  charm  in  the  dim  distances,  where  faintly 
gleamed  a  plashing  fountain,  and  where  stood  marble 
pergolas  through  which  vines  intertwined.  Still  fur- 
ther off  the  waves  sparkled  phosphorescently  as  the 
sea's  surface  was  caressed  by  the  softest  of  breezes. 

The  throbbing  notes  of  an  orchestra  that  seemed 
now  near,  now  far  away,  pulsated  through  the  summer 
air,  and  mild  breezes  wafted  to  grateful  nostrils  the 
mingled  sweetnesses  of  a  thousand  flowers.  Sounds 
of  laughter  and  gay  chatter,  subdued  by  distance, 
struck  mellowly  upon  the  ear  as  little  groups  began  to 
seat  themselves  in  the  white  chairs  about  the  tables, 
while  other  groups  strolled  among  the  flowers  and  * 
statues. 

So  balmy  was  the  air  that  the  women  did  not  need 
even  the  diaphanous  shawls  upon  their  shoulders.  And 
after  a  few  minutes  some  of  them,  with  careless  grace, 
allowed  these  to  slip  off  and  dangle  from  chair  backs, 
so  that  their  shoulders  and  arms  gleamed  in  the  pale 
radiance  in  rivalry  with  the  marble  beauties  on  pedes- 
tals about  them. 

It  was  a  veritable  garden  of  mystery,  in  which  no 
one's  identity  was  clear  until  almost  within  touching 
distance.  Perfectly  trained  lackeys  went  noiselessly 
about  serving  little  cups  of  cafe  diabolique.  This  con- 
coction, made  of  rum,  spices  and  sugar,  with  coffee 
in  the  bean,  all  heated  together,  was  brought  from 
the  palace  kitchens.  It  was  a  liquid  to  please  almost 
any  taste  and,  coming  after  the  champagne  and  the 
liqueurs,  was  well  designed,  amid  such  surroundings, 
to  put  good  humor  into  anyone  who  might  thus  far 
have  escaped  it — into  even  the  devil  himself,  had  he 
been  there. 


344  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

After  a  period  of  languorous  ambrosial  sippings,  in- 
terspersed with  quip  and  jest  and  laughter,  lackeys 
threaded  their  way  among  the  vaguely  limned  groups, 
and  in  low  tones  announced  that  which  made  all  pay 
interested  heed.  There  was  to  be  yet  another  affair 
before  the  evening's  pleasures  were  ended.  "You  will 
kindly  come  down  to  the  beach,  where  all  are  invited 
to  wade  for  pearl  oysters  in  a  pool." 

Ejaculations  of  surprise,  gurgles  of  delight,  mutter- 
ings  of  disbelief,  and  here  and  there  a  rebellious  phrase 
were  heard. 

"What?  Why,  we'll  have  to  take  off  our  shoes  and 
stockings !"  in  feminine  tones. 

"How  perfectly  startling!"  cried  another  woman. 
"And  delightful,"  was  added  in  a  masculine  voice. 

"Well,  this  is  the  limit,"  from  another  of  the  sterner 
sex,  though  he  offered  no  objection. 

"Oh,  well,  it's  a  warm  night,  anyhow,"  in  soprano 
phrases. 

"And  I  feel  ready  for  anything,  don't  you?"  in 
mezzo  soprano,  followed  by  a  hiccough  and  a  giggle. 

"And  just  think — we  may  find  pearls !  You  know 
how  generous  Mr.  Gorman  is,"  in  tones  also  feminine. 

But  whether  willingly  or  unwillingly,  nearly  all  of 
the  company  rose  and  began  strolling  toward  the 
beach. 

"We  may  as  well  see  this  thing  out,"  said  Delaval 
to  Lyle,  and  Mrs.  Lamar,  much  to  the  former's  sur- 
prise, rejoined,  "Certainly;  I  feel  ready  for  something 
unusual."  Then  she  smiled  and  leaned  more  heavily 
on  his  arm. 

He  saw  that  her  eyes  were  unusually  bright.  And 
then  he  remembered  that  he  had  seen  Gorman  in  the 
shadow  of  a  cedar  tree,  and  that  a  lackey  with  a  cup 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  345 

of  cafe  didbolique  had  come  from  that  shadow  directly 
to  Mrs.  Lamar,  and  had  insisted  that  the  cup  was  for 
her  only. 

The  guests  proceeded  over  the  green  sward,  or 
along  flower-bordered  walks  in  the  wake  of  several 
liveried  guides.  After  a  time  they  crossed  a  rustic 
bridge  connecting  with  a  wild  path  that  led  to  a  cliff, 
and  down  its  sides  they  followed  until  suddenly  they 
came  upon  a  smooth,  sandy  beach  upon  which  silvery 
ripples  were  breaking  gently  into  tiny  bubbles  of 
liquid  light. 

A  circular  pool  about  fifty  feet  in  diameter  was 
pointed  out  some  yards  from  the  shore.  It  was  joined 
to  the  sea  by  a  miniature  canal.  Around  the  edges 
of  the  pool  were  rows  of  camp  stools,  and  the  com- 
pany were  told  to  take  seats  and  prepare  for  the  wad- 
ing. And  now  were  repeated  the  comments  that  had 
been  heard  in  the  garden.  But  some  of  those  who 
were  saying  that  they  could  never  consent  to  such  a 
thing  were  by  their  very  actions  consenting.  And  they 
who  refrained  from  removing  their  shoes  and  stock- 
ings, remained  to  observe  those  who  did. 

"Where  is  Mrs.  Gorman?"  some  one  asked  in  low 
tones,  and  the  reply  was,  "She  and  several  of  her 
friends  did  not  leave  the  house."  Lyle,  who  was 
among  those  who  decided  to  stay  upon  this  scene 
merely  as  a  spectator,  heard  both  query  and  answer. 
He  had  asked  himself  the  same  question  a  moment 
before  when  he  saw  Gorman  furtively  watching  Mrs. 
Lamar  from  a  distance. 

The  hour,  the  wine,  the  witchery  of  the  moon,  the 
contagion  of  example — all  made  their  appeal  to  the 
revelers.  "Besides,  it's  no  worse  than  bathing,"  said 
Mrs.  Twarlton  to  Mrs.  Lamar.    "And  it's  so  delight- 


346  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

fully  unique,"  she  added.  "They  say  the  pearls  among 
the  oysters  are  worth  a  fortune." 

The  eyes  of  Mrs.  Lamar  were  still  shining  with  a 
strange  brightness,  and  even  in  the  soft  light  a  flush 
might  be  seen  on  her  cheek  as  she  lifted  a  small  foot, 
put  it  across  her  knee,  removed  her  slipper,  and  then 
deftly  loosened  her  stocking.  Both  slippers  and  stock- 
ings were  soon  off,  and  she  leaned  upon  Delaval's  arm 
as  he  guided  her  toward  the  middle  of  the  pool. 

Now,  the  water  was  as  warm  as  the  balmy  air,  and 
at  no  place  was  it  more  than  eighteen  inches  deep. 
But  eighteen  inches  are  quite  a  distance  toward  the 
knee — in  fact,  that  depth  might  go  beyond  many  a 
feminine  knee.  And  when  an  inch  or  two  were  added 
to  allow  for  the  height  at  which  skirts  had  to  be  held 
to  avoid  the  water,  and  then,  when  a  form  was  bent 
far  over  in  the  search  for  oysters 

But  of  course  the  skirts  were  only  gradually  raised, 
and  the  ankles  and  then  the  legs  were  covered  by 
water  as  the  waders  stepped  further  and  further  into 
the  pool — they  were  covered,  that  is,  except  for  a  more 
or  less  narrow  rim  of  flesh,  while  beneath  the  surface, 
though  the  water  was  clear,  only  vague  blurs  of  legs 
could  be  seen.  Besides,  everything  was  softened  to 
the  view  by  the  mild  radiance  of  the  moon.  The 
feminine  arms  and  shoulders  were  mostly  bare,  but 
these  had  been  exposed  all  the  evening.  Still,  they 
seemed  more  alluring  here. 

"I've  got  one." 

"So've  I — a  beauty." 

"Oh,  why  can't  I  find  any?" 

"I  wonder  if  there's  a  pearl  in  mine?" 

"O-o-o-ouch !" 

"What's  the  matter — a  crab?" 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  347 

"No-o-o.    I  thought  it  was,  but  it's  only  a  pebble." 

And  so  the  search  went  on. 

Mrs.  Lamar  was  among  the  first  to  find  an  oyster, 
and  she  hurried  to  the  shore.  Lyle,  who  was  half  a 
dozen  seats  away,  saw  her  first  look  guiltily  about,  as 
though  a  reaction  in  her  feelings  had  set  in,  and  then 
hastily  put  on  her  stockings  and  slippers.  She  then 
began  to  examine  her  oyster,  and  had  just  learned 
that  it  contained  no  pearl,  when  a  lackey  approached 
and  said  in  low  tones,  "Mr.  Gorman  would  like  to  see 
you  for  a  moment  up  the  path.  It  is  a  matter,  he 
says,  of  great  importance  to  yourself  and  Mr.  Lamar." 

Half  in  dread,  yet  half  believing  that  something  of 
grave  import  had  happened,  she  rose  and  followed. 
The  lackey  led  her  to  the  shadow  of  a  pine  beside  the 
path  leading  back  to  the  palace,  and  then  quickly 
departed. 

She  saw  a  shadowy  form  standing  under  the  tree, 
and  she  knew  it  could  be  none  other  than  Gorman. 
Yet  she  felt  a  sudden  terror  when  he  stepped  toward 
her,  and  she  realized  that  he  was  between  her  and  the 
beach. 

"Mrs.  Lamar,  I  love  you,"  he  said,  and  as  she 
caught  her  breath  he  went  on  rapidly,  "I  am  the 
busiest  of  mortals,  and  I  have  no  time  to  make  love. 
There  is  hardly  anything  I  would  not  or  could  not  do 
for  you.    Name  whatever  you  desire " 

"Stop!"  she  cried.  "I  must  not  listen  to  you,  and 
I  will  not." 

She  turned  away,  and  began  to  walk  up  the  path, 
and  he  followed.  He  pleaded  with  her  to  be  calm, 
to  listen,  to  let  him  be  her  friend,  her  husband's 
friend.  She  only  walked  the  faster.  He  walked  faster 
still. 


348  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

"My  dear  Mrs.  Lamar,  just  one  kiss,"  he  begged 
as  he  approached  her  again.  His  voice  was  now 
hoarse  with  passion.  She  felt  like  crying  out  in  ter- 
ror, but  decided  to  save  her  strength  instead,  and 
broke  into  a  run.  The  effect  of  the  cafe  diabolique 
was  past,  and  the  reaction,  added  to  the  coolness  of  a 
northerly  breeze  which  had  just  sprung  up,  chilled  her, 
but  her  fears  were  more  chilling  still. 

The  path  led  over  hillocks  and  around  boulders  on 
its  way  to  the  top  of  the  cliff,  and  had  it  not  been 
for  the  moon,  now  blazing  in  passionate,  vibrating 
intensity  overhead,  she  would  surely  have  stumbled. 
Gorman  was  hoping  for  this,  so  that  he  might  pick  her 
up  in  his  arms.  He  could  have  rushed  forward  and 
seized  her  at  any  time,  but  refrained  only  because  he 
feared  the  result  of  her  screams. 

When  she  arrived  panting  at  the  top  she  found  the 
path  still  tortuous.  It  wound  in  and  out  among  sturdy 
pines  and  scrub  oak  trees,  and  thence  on  to  a  rustic 
bridge.  Crossing  the  bridge  she  saw,  a  hundred  yards 
beyond,  a  grove  of  larger  trees  which  she  would  have 
to  pass  before  she  reached  the  garden.  Gorman  was 
half-minded  to  lay  hold  of  her  here,  so  mad  with 
desire  had  he  become.  The  grove  was  midway  of 
the  palace  and  the  beach,  and  far  enough  from  either 
to  make  ordinary  cries  carry  faintly,  if  at  all. 

He  bounded  forward,  but  with  new  fears  born  of 
the  gloom  she  anticipated  him,  sped  under  the  trees 
with  all  her  strength,  and  was  running  in  the  moon- 
light ahead  ere  he  was  half  way  through  the  grove. 

Her  mantilla  caught  on  a  branch,  and  was  torn 
from  her  shoulders,  but  not  a  fraction  of  a  second 
could  she  pause  to  regain  it.  With  her  left  hand  she 
carried  her  train,  and  in  her  excitement  at  times  she 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  349 

lifted  it  almost  to  her  knees.  She  seemed  much  like 
an  animated  statue,  a  veritable  Diana,  with  her  grace- 
ful form  gleaming  marble-like  in  the  moon's  rays,  and 
her  shimmering  gown  clinging  in  fairy-like  folds  about 
her. 

Lured  on  by  the  sight,  Gorman's  passion  grew  with 
every  stride.  His  quarry,  entering  the  shades  of  the 
garden,  was  confused  by  a  network  of  paths,  and  his 
hopes  rose  as  he  saw  her  hesitate.  She  knew  the 
palace  was  to  one  side  of  the  garden,  but  which  side 
she  could  not  recall.  She  heard  her  pursuer's  heavy 
breathing  once  more,  and  plunged  blindly  along  a  path 
to  the  right.  She  soon  found  herself  in  a  gloomy  re- 
treat, lined  with  tall  cedars  set  closely  together.  Run- 
ning on,  she  saw  that  the  path  led  only  to  a  grassy 
terrace  dotted  with  wild  flowers  and  shrubs. 

She  looked  desperately  about  for  the  palace,  but  saw 
instead,  dimly  outlined  a  hundred  yards  onward,  the 
high,  vine-covered  wall  that  shut  out  the  life  of  the 
town.  At  that  instant  she  felt  a  hot  breath  upon  her 
cheek,  and  turned  to  behold  the  passion-distorted  face 
of  Gorman.  In  the  center  of  his  forehead  was  an 
amorphous  spot  that  glowed  like  a  carbuncle. 

"My  darling,"  he  began. 

"Wh — why  this  outrage,  sir  ?"  she  demanded  between 
gasps  for  breath. 

"I  love  you,  and  can  make  you  the  most  envied " 

"Stand  back  or  I'll  scream!" 

She  retreated  behind  a  rustic  bench  and  confronted 
him  with  blazing  eyes,  holding  up  her  hands  to  ward 
him  off. 

"Good  evening,  Mrs.  Lamar,"  said  Lyle  at  that 
moment,  stepping  out  of  the  shadows. 


35o  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

Mrs.  Lamar  began  to  sob  hysterically,  and  this  gave 
Gorman  a  cue  for  an  explanation. 

"Ah,  I  am  so  glad  you  came  along,"  he  said,  stifling 
his  rage  and  speaking  with  forced  calmness.  "You 
are  Mr. " 

"Bellucci,  of  Milan,  at  your  service,  sir,"  was  the 
response.  In  the  pale  light,  and  with  hair  and  skin 
darkened,  Lyle  felt  sure  he  would  not  be  recognized, 
but  now  that  affairs  had  come  to  such  a  crisis,  he 
cared  little. 

"Well,  Signor  Bellucci,  you  see  Mrs.  Lamar  got 
lost  on  her  way  back  from  the  beach,  and  she  called 
for  help,  and  when  I  appeared  suddenly,  thought  I 
was  a  robber — or — or — or  a  ghost,  maybe.  She  be- 
came hysterical  then,  you  know.  I  wish  there  was  a 
lady  present  to  comfort  her." 

As  he  was  speaking  two  forms  were  seen  approach- 
ing from  thick  shrubbery,  near  the  vine-covered  wall. 
One  was  a  feminine  figure,  the  other  masculine.  Gor- 
man recognized  them  both.  The  woman  was  Mrs. 
Stokeham,  a  widow  of  forty  who  was  commonly 
reputed  to  be  fond  of  young  men.  Her  escort  was 
Reggy  Plaster,  one  of  the  fastest  of  the  younger  set. 

In  time  of  trouble,  women  of  all  kinds  are  apt  to 
feel  drawn  to  each  other  and  to  give  sympathy  to,  or 
receive  it  from  those  whom  at  other  times  they  would 
avoid.  And  now  Mrs.  Lamar  felt  grateful  as  Mrs. 
Stokeham  threw  her  arms  about  her  and  spoke  com- 
forting words  in  her  ear,  while  Gorman  continued  his 
explanation  to  the  men. 

All  walked  back  to  the  palace,  where  Mrs.  Lamar's 
automobile  was  called.  Lyle,  pretending  to  accept 
Gorman's  version,  bade  him  good-night,  and  accom- 
panied her  home. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  351 

"I  shall  always  be  grateful  to  you,"  she  said,  as 
soon  as  they  had  left  the  grounds.  "But  how  did 
you  happen  to  be  right  there  ?" 

And  then  he  told  her  that  he  had  overheard  the 
lackey's  message.  Suspecting  the  truth,  he  had  called 
Delaval  to  his  side,  told  him  to  watch  the  beach  end 
of  the  path,  and  then  had  hurried  past  the  spot  where 
Gorman  was  in  waiting,  and  had  kept  far  ahead  of 
the  pursuer  and  the  pursued  to  the  end  of  the  chase, 
but  near  enough  to  be  on  hand  at  the  crisis. 

"But  I  fear  there  will  be  other  developments  to  this 
affair,"  he  concluded. 

"I  fear  so,  too,  from  what  I  have  heard  of  Gorman," 
she  replied,  and  both  were  silent  during  the  rest  of 
the  ride. 

CHAPTER  VII 

IMPERIAL  REVENGE 

Several  months  passed  before  Lyle  heard  of  the 
Lamars  again.  Delaval  had  gone  to  his  old  home  in 
Virginia  to  try  to  raise,  by  another  mortgage,  addi- 
tional funds  with  which  to  start  a  new  magazine,  and 
it  was  in  a  letter  from  him  that  Lyle  read  the  story 
that  is  here  appended.  The  letter  was  dated  at  Pine- 
ville,  and  after  telling  of  success  in  obtaining  money, 
it  continued : 

"I  came  over  here  from  my  home  in  the  next  county  to  see 
for  myself  the  havoc  wrought  by  imperial  revenge.  Pine- 
ville,  you  know,  is  one  of  the  oldest  towns  in  the  State, 
and  it  had  been  for  generations  the  home  of  the  Lamar 
family.  Not  only  was  it  a  beautiful  little  residence  city, 
but  there  were  thriving  tobacco  factories  and  other  indus- 
tries along  the  river  front.  Now  it  is  like  a  deserted 
village. 

"It  reminds  me  of  the  situation  in  the  Japanese  comic 


352  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

opera  when,  by  order  of  the  Emperor,  a  city  is  reduced  to 
the  rank  of  a  village  because  no  executions  have  taken 
place  there  in  a  year.  But  by  the  American  imperial 
decree  a  town  is  made  into  a  village,  and  no  explanation 
is  given.  It  is  all  a  hideous  farce.  lohn  Lamar  is  one  of 
the  finest  men  this  State  has  ever  produced,  and  he  has 
hosts  of  powerful  friends — powerful  as  power  is  under- 
stood in  a  provincial  sense.  But  we  provincial  Americans 
do  not  know  what  imperial  power  means,  though  we  are 
ruled  by  it  every  day.  Well,  this  imperial  power  collided 
with  provincial  power  here,  and  now  this  town  is  prostrate, 
and  none  except  the  Lamars  know  why. 

''After  their  hurried  return  from  Newport,  where  they 
declined  all  invitations  from  the  palace  following  the 
opening  orgy,  the  Lamars  were  invited  to  visit  the  Gor- 
mans  in  New  York.  This  was  early  in  the  Autumn. 
Instead  of  accepting,  Lamar  sent  in  his  resignation  as 
vice-president  of  the  Virginia  Central.  He  thought  that 
the  surrendering  up  of  his  official  head  would  satisfy  the 
Emperor,  but  not  so.  A  little  later  he  was  appointed 
manager  of  an  interurban  trolley  system.  Gorman  bought 
that,  and  again  he  resigned. 

"Then  came  the  railway  rate  discriminations  that  killed 
the  prosperity  of  the  town.  The  citizens  appealed  to  the 
State  Railway  Commission,  and  then  to  the  National 
Commission.  Their  protests  went  for  naught.  Always 
there  was  a  majority  of  officialdom  against  them.  The 
factories  had  to  close,  for  they  were  compelled  to  pay 
twice  as  much  to  ship  their  goods  to  New  York  as  the 
factories  of  South  Carolina,  twice  as  far  away.  Isn't  it 
almost  beyond  belief,  in  this  day  and  age,  that  the  func- 
tions of  government  can  be  so  distorted,  while  the  people 
remain  asleep?  But  official  records  contain  chis  and  other 
instances  of  towns  being  ruined  in  a  similar  way. 

"Fortunately,  most  of  the  Lamars'  money  was  invested 
outside  of  Pineville,  and  they  will  lose  only  the  value  of 
their  home.  Lamar  is  coming  to  New  York  to  buy  a 
third  interest  in  the  Atlantic  Trust  Company.  Some 
financial  enemies  of  Gorman  will  aid  him  to  become 
president  of  it.  And  there  is  good  news  for  us  in  this 
move:  Lamar  will  help  us  start  the  Progress  Magazine, 
and  together  we  three  will  own  ninety  per  cent,  of  the 
stock,  so  there  will  be  no  selling  out  by  the  majority  this 
time. 

"But  daily  grows  the  Gorman  power,  until  the  very  name 
of  Gorman  has  become  a  synonym  for  gormand.  One  day 
he  seizes  the  telegraphs,  the  next  the  insurance  compa- 
nies, the  next,  a  dozen  steamship  lines,  and  then  follow 
the  electric  industries,  and  the  automobile  factories.  The 
nation  cannot  even  start  to  build  a  canal  to  unite  the 
oceans  but  his  sinister  figure  darkens  the  horizon  with  a 


THE  AMERICAN   EMPEROR  353 

gigantic  scheme  for  loot.  President  and  Congress  are 
forced  to  abandon  the  chosen  route,  and  pay  him  forty 
millions  for  stock  he  secretly  bought  for  six  from  the 
swindled  Panama  investors  of  France.  And  they  call  him 
our  greatest  'Napoleon  of  finance!'  An  eagle  symbolized 
the  courage  of  the  Corsican.  A  vulture  stands  for  Gor- 
man's. Gorged  with  everything  worth  while  in  America 
he  now  turns  his  attention  to  the  Orient,  and  loans  China 
a  hundred  millions  for  national  railroads  and  telephones. 
Think  of  it!  The  Chinese  nation  may  own  such  things, 
but  not  the  American,  and  yet  we  Americans  pay  for  all. 

"Perhaps  we  had  better  change  the  country's  name  to 
Gormania  at  once,  and  give  him  the  crown.  It  would  be 
immensely  cheaper.  But  I  cannot  help  fighting  his  system, 
futile  though  it  may  be,  when  I  think  of  how  my  father 
was  hounded  to  the  grave,  and  when  I  see  my  friends 
ruined,  provinces  plundered,  and  the  nation's  very  existence 
threatened  by  a  'self-made'  beast,  drunk  with  wealth  and 
power,  who  bawls  his  orders  to  courts,  commissions,  stock 
markets  and  governments — not  even  when  I  am  to  marry 
his  daughter.  s 

"Is  this  last  surprising?  Well,  Theodora  has  promised  to 
marry  me  as  soon  as  my  new  play  is  produced,  and  it  is 
shortly  to  be  tried  out  at  the  National,  the  new  endowed 
theater.  Filbin,  the  literary  director,  has  been  my  friend 
for  years,  and  he  has  accepted  'The  Ruler  of  America.' 
It  is  to  appear  right  after  the  opening  play's  run  is  ended. 

"And  now  I  have  some  more  news  pertinent  to  the 
hour:  Gorman  has  built  a  new  library  and  art  gallery 
adjoining  his  latest  palace  overlooking  the  Hudson,  and 
he  wants  people  interested  in  art  and  literature  to  see  it, 
so  that  his  reputation  as  a  connoisseur  will  grow.  Special 
tickets  have  been  issued,  and  I  have  obtained  a  half  dozen 
from  a  friend  on  Whistler's  Magazine.  While  Gorman  is  in 
Europe  we  can  go  safely  enough,  and  I  suggest  that  you 
and  Mercedes,  Theodora  and  I  go  next  week,  and  take 
the  Lamars,  who  will  be  in  New  York  then.  I  expect  to 
get  some  ideas  for  my  play,  as  the  new  temple  is  said  to 
be  the  apple  of  the  imperial  eye,  and  a  scene  located  in 
such  a  setting  should  make  an  impressive  feature," 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    MARBLE    LIBRARY 

The  building  was  of  white  marble,  in  the  style  of 
the  Parthenon  at  Athens.     Sculptures  in  the  pediment 


354  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

facing  the  street  represented  Athena  aiding  Perseus 
to  slay  the  Gorgon  Medusa.  In  the  rear  pediment  was 
a  group  showing  the  goddess  overcoming  the  sea  god 
Poseidon. 

The  six  visitors  alighted  from  an  automobile  and 
entered  through  great  bronze  doors  into  a  vaulted 
marble  hall  paved  with  Roman  mosaic.  On  either 
side  they  saw  a  pair  of  greenish  marble  columns. 
These  were  originally  from  some  Italian  quarry,  but 
lately  taken  from  the  hotel  of  the  Comte  d'Evreux 
in  the  Faubourg  St.  Honore  in  Paris.  So  explained 
one  of  the  liveried  guides.  There  were  two  other 
guides,  each  with  a  party  of  visitors,  in  other  parts 
of  the  building. 

"That  place  you  mention  in  the  Faubourg  St.  Hon- 
ore was  one  of  the  homes  of  the  Marquise  de  Pom- 
padour, was  it  not?"  asked  Mrs.  Lamar. 

"Yes,  madame/'  answered  the  guide. 

Illumination  for  the  hall  came  from  a  central  double 
skylight  of  plate  glass,  of  such  wonderful  transparency 
that  the  sky  was  seen  as  if  through  empty  air.  The 
ceiling  was  a  groined  vault,  square  in  plan,  and  resting 
upon  three  sides  and  an  arch.  In  each  of  the  lunettes 
of  the  three  sides  were  decorations  in  figure  subjects 
illustrating  stories  from  the  Grecian  mythology. 

Proceeding  into  the  main  hall,  which  was  filled  with 
statuary  and  paintings,  the  visitors  saw  an  apartment 
with  walls  thirty  feet  high,  lighted  through  double 
plate  glass  in  octagonal  form. 

The  ceiling  around  the  skylight,  as  the  guide 
pointed  out,  was  separated  into  panels  by  mouldings 
in  color,  on  a  gold  background.  In  the  first  panel, 
the  seated  female  figure  in  full  relief  was  Clio,  the 
Muse  of  History,  and  the  eight  other  Muses  were  in 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  355 

the  other  panels.  In  the  angles,  on  rectangular  panels, 
were  painted  groups  illustrating  the  chief  stories  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  several  in  allegory.  The  backgrounds 
in  the  painted  panels  were  mosaic  gold,  and  the  gen- 
eral background  of  the  whole  ceiling  was  gold,  with 
arabesque  decorations  in  various  mediums. 

In  the  great  semi-circular  lunettes  above  the  cornice 
on  the  opposite  wall  were  represented  the  gods  of 
Olympus  throned  in  the  center,  and  the  Iliad  and  the 
Aneid  were  personified  in  groups  on  either  side.  On 
the  wall  to  the  right  was  shown  a  tabernacle  or  shrine 
of  the  Muses,  rich  in  carving  and  gold,  with  support- 
ing winged  figures  on  either  side.  On  the  left,  in  full 
relief,  was  a  sculpture  of  Venus  rising  from  the  sea. 

"Now  in  the  next  room  is  the  library,"  said  the 
guide,  "and  if  you  will  kindly  follow  me " 

"But  I'd  rather  see  these  statues  and  pictures  first, 
wouldn't  you?"  asked  Theodora,  who  was  looking 
nearer  happy  than  ever  before  as  she  leaned  on  Dela- 
val's  arm.  He  and  the  others  agreed  with  her,  and 
the  guide  was  excused. 

There  were  subdued  exclamations  of  surprise  and 
delight  as  they  passed  from  statue  to  statue,  from 
painting  to  painting.  Among  the  first  of  the  marbles 
was  a  broken  dream  of  exquisite  beauty  handed  down 
from  the  young  days  of  old  Greece,  a  Ganymede  with 
one  ami  gone.  In  the  ruins  of  Delphi,  oft  ravished  in 
olden  days  to  enrich  the  palaces  of  Roman  imperators, 
it  had  been  lately  unearthed  to  adorn  the  temple  of 
this  modern  emperor  on  the  far  shores  of  America,  in 
a  land  beyond  even  the  "ultimate  dim  Thule"  of  the 
ancients.  Perhaps  Praxiteles  himself  had  chiseled  this 
figure.    The  arm  and  hand  remaining  still  held  out  the 


356  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

empty  cup  made  to  contain  nectar  for  the  gods,  and 
the  marble  lips  still  smiled  their  immortal  smile. 

Beside  it  stood  the  figure  of  a  Greek  slave  fashioned 
by  one  of  the  earliest  Italian  masters.  The  delicate 
lines  of  the  face  seemed  almost  to  speak  with  the 
woman's  intense  longing  to  be  free — the  woman's 
longing,  for  surely  there  was  a  woman's  spirit  im- 
prisoned in  that  stone,  else  it  could  not  be  so  express- 
ive of  feminine  feeling.  This  feeling  was  shown  in 
every  lineament  of  the  face,  in  the  very  tension  of 
the  beautiful  limbs  which  appeared  yet  to  quiver  from 
the  humiliation  of  the  lash,  and  in  the  heave  of  the 
rounded  bosom  that  seemed  still  vibrant  with  emotion. 

And  there  were  Donatellos  and  Verrochios,  Thor- 
waldens  and  Flanxmans,  and  others  from  every  prin- 
cipal country  where  sculpture  had  flourished,  all 
grouped  in  perfect  taste,  and  ranging  from  the  earliest 
marbles  instinct  with  Hellenic  grace  down  to  the  latest 
block  of  stone  into  which  the  great,  rugged,  masterful 
Rodin  had  flung  a  soul. 

The  pictures  were  next  viewed.  Here  was  a  Corot 
that  had  cost  a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  beside 
it  was  a  Rembrandt  for  which  two  hundred  thousand 
had  been  paid.  The  prices  were  mentioned  by  the 
guide,  who  had  returned  to  enlighten  the  beholders  as 
to  the  worth  of  what  they  gazed  on.  "A  French  so- 
ciety was  organized  to  save  the  Corots  still  in  that 
country,"  he  said,  "but  Mr.  Gorman  outbid  them  on 
this  and  half  a  dozen  others.  The  rest  of  them  are 
in  the  American  Museum  of  Art,  but  his  favorite  pic- 
tures he  keeps  here." 

"How  much  does  he  spend  in  a  year  on  art  works  ?" 
Lyle  asked. 

"I  heard  him  tell  some  one  lately  that  it's  now  about 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  357 

three  millions,"  replied  the  guide,  and  there  was  a 
tinge  of  pride  in  his  tones.  "He  also  said,"  continued 
the  man,  seeing  that  he  had  interested  auditors,  "that 
this  sum  was  twenty  or  thirty  times  what  the  German 
government  expended  on  the  imperial  galleries." 

"Mr.  Gorman  has  been  decorated  by  several  Eu- 
ropean sovereigns,  hasn't  he,  because  of  the  works  of 
art  he  has  presented  to  them?"  Delaval  inquired. 

"Oh,  yes,  by  most  of  them,  I  think.  The  latest 
decoration  is  from  China.  It's  the  order  of  the  Four- 
Eyed  Dragon,  or  something  like  that.  But  the  Ger- 
man Kaiser  won't  honor  him  any  more  now,  I'm 
afraid,  on  account  of  the  ship  trust." 

"And  there's  not  a  picture  here  by  an  American 
artist,  is  there?"  asked  Lamar.  "We  have  produced 
some  great  landscape  painters.  Surely,  they  are 
worthy  of  patronage." 

"Well,  you  see,  sir,  Mr.  Gorman  pays  the  best  prices 
for  everything,  and  wants  only  the  most  famous. 
American  painters  are  not  yet  famous  enough,  I 
imagine." 

They  were  walking  toward  the  library,  and  at  that 
moment  were  before  a  masterpiece  by  Zorolla,  the 
newest  genius  of  old  Spain.  Next  to  it  was  Velas- 
quez' "Spanish  Statesman,"  for  which  three  hundred 
thousand  had  been  paid.  Altogether,  there  were  fifty 
paintings  by  ancient  and  modern  European  artists  be- 
fore their  eyes,  and  together  these  must  have  cost  five 
millions. 

"The  best  foreign  artists  decorated  these  walls," 
said  the  guide,  as  they  proceeded  into  the  library 
proper.  "On  those  semi-circular  lunettes  up  there  you 
see  paintings  illustrative  of  great  scenes  in  literature. 
One  shows  the  rape  of  Lucrece,  another  the  death  of 


358  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

King  Arthur,  another  Virgil's  meeting  with  Dante  in 
hell,  and  so  on.  In  the  octagonal  panels  separating 
the  lunettes  are  medallion  portraits  of  Homer  and 
Virgil,  Tasso  and  Dante,  Shakespeare  and  Milton. 

"And  in  these  bookshelves,  which  are  made  of  Cir- 
cassian walnut,"  he  rambled  on,  "you  may  find  the 
choicest  collection  of  books  in  the  world.  Here  are 
Gutenbergs  and  Caxtons,  Aldines  and  Elzevirs,  a 
series  of  the  Golden  Gospels  of  the  seventh  century, 
and  whole  series  from  the  presses  of  Venice,  of  Flor- 
ence, and  of  Augsburg.  And  the  finest  missals  are 
here,  and  autographs  of  hundreds  of  famous  writers." 

"Any  Americans  ?"  asked  Delaval. 

"No,  sir,  except  Poe,  and  maybe  Hawthorne,  too. 
He  doesn't  think  much  of  modern  American  writers, 
I  suppose." 

"Naturally,"  remarked  Delaval  in  low  tones  to  the 
others.     "He  has  too  many  of  them  on  his  pay  roll." 

There  were  beautiful  rugs  on  the  floor,  and  tapes- 
tries of  exquisite  workmanship  on  the  walls.  The 
silken  strands  of  one  rug  had  been  dyed  by  Oriental 
hands  and  woven  into  a  gorgeous  semblance  of  the 
regal  gardens  of  Persia ;  the  lithe,  yellow  fingers  of 
Japan,  with  their  pointed  nails,  had  made  the  white 
satin  screen  with  its  delicately  enameled  peacocks,  and 
some  lean  Italian  hand,  with  long  and  supple  fingers, 
had  carved  a  beautiful  ebony  cabinet  that  stood  in  one 
corner. 

Upon  the  cabinet  was  the  copy  of  a  recent  American 
magazine.  Lyle  and  Mercedes  opened  it  together,  and 
he  pointed  out  to  her  that  the  leading  article  was  a 
eulogy  entitled  "Gorman  the  Great."  The  opening 
paragraph  compared  him  with  Lorenzo  the  Magnifi- 
cent, and  with  several  famous  rulers  of  the  past  who 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  359 

were  noted  for  their  love  of  art.  At  that  instant  the 
guide,  who  seemed  to  have  taken  a  fancy  to  these  par- 
ticular visitors,  and  who  had  been  showing  Delaval 
and  Mrs.  Lamar  some  rare  treasures,  announced  that 
he  had  an  original  Byron  manuscript. 

"An  agent  was  two  years  searching  Greece  for  this," 
he  said,  and  they  all  gathered  about  him  to  see  the 
chirography  of  the  great  poet.  They  looked  over  his 
shoulder  and  read  these  lines,  to  which  his  ringer 
pointed  as  the  most  legible : 

"Nor  all  that  heralds  rake  from  coffined  clay, 
Nor  florid  prose,  nor  honied  lies  of  rhyme 
Can  blazon  evil  deeds,  or  consecrate  a  crime." 

"How  strange  that  we  should  read  those  words 
here,"  remarked  Delaval  as  they  all  turned  to  go. 
"What  a  fine  protest  by  a  great  soul  against  the  per- 
version of  language  by  prostituted  minds !  It  is  in- 
spiring just  to  read  them. 

"And  by  the  way,"  he  added,  as  they  rode  away  in 
the  automobile,  "if  you  will  all  come  to  the  National 
Theater  to-morrow  evening,  I  will  tell  you  about  the 
protest  against  prostituted  minds  contained  in  my 
new  play,  'The  Ruler  of  America,'  which  will  be  the 
next  production  there." 


CHAPTER  IX 

AT   THE   ENDOWED   THEATER 

There   was   a   Grecian    simplicity   about   the    new 
National  Theater  which  soothed  and  charmed  an  eye 


360  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

accustomed  to  the  inharmonies  of  New  York  archi- 
tecture. The  facade  was  of  pure  white  marble,  and 
it  rose  no  higher  above  the  pavement  than  one  of 
those  Attic  temples  in  which  the  characters  of  ^schy- 
lus  once  trod  the  boards.  The  pediment,  overlooking 
a  pleasant  parkway,  was  upheld  by  Ionic  columns  of 
chastest  stone. 

The  Delaval  party  arrived  early  and  strolled  about 
the  lobbies  for  a  while  before  entering  the  auditorium. 

"How  beautiful  it  is,  dear,  and  how  proud  I  shall 
be  to  witness  your  play  in  such  a  setting!"  said  Theo- 
dora, as  she  and  Delaval  stood  apart  from  the  others 
in  one  end  of  the  grand  lobby.  "You  knew  all  the 
time  that  I  loved  you  well  enough  to  marry  you,  but 
I  did  so  want  to  encourage  you  to  do  something  fine 
and  big." 

Her  eyes  that  were  wont  to  be  filled  with  melancholy 
now  shone  brightly  with  love  and  pride.  He,  too, 
looked  anything  but  pessimistic,  as  he  allowed  his 
spirit  to  bathe  in  anticipatory  joys,  and  he  smiled 
happily  as  he  led  the  way  into  the  box  which  the 
literary  director  had  reserved  for  him.  Lyle  and 
Mercedes  followed  just  behind  them,  and  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lamar,  who  had  met  some  Southern  friends  in 
the  lobby,  entered  the  box  last. 

It  would  have  been  hard  to  say  which  of  the  ladies 
looked  the  most  beautiful  in  evening  attire.  All  were 
dark  eyed,  and  similar  in  height  and  form  and  com- 
plexion, all  were  gracefully  gowned,  and  their  coif- 
fures were  by  some  chance  so  nearly  alike  that  the 
trio  might  have  been  taken  for  sisters.  Mrs.  Lamar 
was  the  youngest,  but  only  at  close  range  could  this 
have  been  told. 

The  new  playhouse  had  been  open  for  only  a  few 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  361 

days,  so  that  most  of  the  audience  came  to  see  the 
theater  itself  as  much  as  the  play.  "Henry  V."  was 
the  bill  for  the  first  two  months,  after  which  "The 
Ruler  of  America,"  by  Arthur  Delaval,  was  to  be 
given  a  trial. 

"You  must  be  careful,  Del,  or  these  decorations  will 
outshine  your  play,"  said  Lyle,  as  he  and  the  others 
looked  about  them. 

And  so  it  seemed.  Those  who  might  have  lamented 
the  lack  of  outer  decoration  here  found  no  cause  for 
complaint.  They  saw  marbles  of  many  hues,  plush 
and  velvet  hangings,  and  paint  and  gold  and  gilt  in 
great  profusion.  Before  them  rose  an  immense  pros- 
cenium arch  to  the  height  of  a  hundred  feet  or  more. 
This  was  topped  by  a  gigantic  shield  of  gold,  and 
upon  either  side  of  this  leaned  golden  angels  in  full 
relief.  Above  the  shield  was  a  marble  panel,  and  upon 
it  in  bas-relief  was  a  double  mask  of  Comedy  and 
Tragedy,  and  this  was  flanked  on  either  side  by  clus- 
ters of  golden  grapes.  Nude  nymphs  of  gold  hovered 
near,  and  Cupids  of  the  same  substance  were  flying 
about. 

On  either  side  of  the  proscenium  rose  three  Corin- 
thian pillars  of  white  marble,  resting  upon  breccia 
marble  bases.  Between  the  first  two  pillars  were 
golden  shields  and  Cupids,  and  between  the  second 
and  third  pillars  were  two  tiers  of  boxes  overhung 
with  gilded  canopies.  The  names  of  great  dramatists 
of  ancient  and  modern  times  were  inscribed  on  marble 
panels  in  a  row  all  around  the  walls  just  beneath  the 
ceiling,  and  upon  these  panels  leaned  partly  draped 
marble  figures  of  the  Muses  in  bas-relief. 

Over  all  was  a  ceiling  ablaze  with  golden  glory. 
From  the  center  hung  a  massive  cone  shaped  chan- 


362  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

delier,  surmounted  by  a  crown  of  gold.  This  crown 
was  bordered  by  eight  pairs  of  aureate  nymphs.  Be- 
tween each  pair  were  arabesques,  quirls  and  other  fan- 
ciful designs  upon  shields,  all  in  gold  and  all  in  full 
relief.  The  rest  of  the  ceiling  was  covered  with  stars 
and  bars  of  gold,  and  with  golden  Cupids,  and  clusters 
of  auriferous  grapes,  and  besides  all  this  many  gilded 
shields  were  strewn  about  promiscuously  as  though 
flung  there  by  despairing  angels  fleeing  from  the 
hosts  of  Satan. 

"Why,  this  theater  must  have  cost  millions,"  said 
Mrs.  Lamar.  "I  wonder  who  gave  the  money.  They 
must  have  had  gold  to  throw  away,  since  they  scat- 
tered it  about  like  this." 

"I  have  heard  that  ten  millionaires  gave  the  bulk 
of  it,"  replied  her  husband.  "But  the  fund  was  started 
by  a  group  of  comparatively  poor  men,  including  sev- 
eral dramatists,  and  authors  of  books  and  reformatory 
magazine  articles — say,  you  two  gentlemen  must  have 
been  among  those  interested  in  the  beginning,  weren't 
you?" 

"Yes,"  Delaval  admitted.  "Lyle  and  I  gave  a  hun- 
dred dollars  each,  but  that  was  not  enough  to  have  our 
names  included  in  the  list  of  names  on  a  marble  tablet 
out  in  the  lobby.  However,  we  did  not  expect  that.  We 
wanted  to  help  along  a  movement  for  pure  drama, 
and  such  drama  must  be  independent  of  the  support 
of  the  majority  of  playgoers.  We  aided  the  plan  more 
by  magazine  articles  than  by  money.  The  Theatre 
Franchise  in  Paris  was  our  model.  We  finally  got  a 
large  part  of  the  press  interested,  and  then  the  million- 
aires were  enticed  into  the  scheme — men  who  have 
become  rich  in  railways,  or  sugar,  or  pork,  or  depart- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  363 

ment  stores,  and  so  on — and  the  chance  to  be  known 
as  patrons  of  pure  drama  appealed  to  them." 

"But  it  puzzles  me,"  said  Lyle,  "to  understand  how 
Gorman  overlooked  the  chance  to  get  the  glory,  or 
the  main  share  of  it.  He  has  given  only  a  hundred 
thousand,  which  is  equivalent  to  a  contribution  of 
about  fifty  cents  from  one  of  us.  He  must  have  been 
too  busy  to  think  of  the  matter." 

"It  is  puzzling,"  Delaval  agreed,  "and  it  is  the  more 
so,  since  he  has  not  left  the  theatrical  field  alone  in 
other  directions.  He  has  built  the  Colosseum,  you 
know — although  the  masses  don't  know  it.  There  the 
great  spectacular  shows  are  given  with  elephants  and 
horses  and  other  animals  on  the  stage,  and  sometimes 
ships  are  floated  in  huge  tanks,  and  naval  battles  re- 
produced. I  think  his  plan  is  like  that  of  the  Roman 
emperors  who  delighted  the  populace  with  arena  dis- 
plays and  thus  kept  their  minds  off  their  own  degra- 
dation. But  he,  of  course,  makes  them  pay  good 
prices  to  see  the  shows." 

"Do  you  mean  that  he  owns  the  Colosseum?"  asked 
Lamar. 

"Not  precisely,  but  his  allies,  acting  under  his  di- 
rection, built  it  with  money  made  in  steel." 

"Next,  he  will  probably  be  organizing  a  theater 
trust,"  remarked  Mrs.  Lamar. 

"There  is  one  already,"  Lyle  explained.  "We  will 
have  an  article  about  it  in  one  of  the  early  numbers 
of  the  Progress.  Jews  are  the  controlling  factors  in  it. 
They  make  the  leading  actors  play  on  their  terms,  or 
keep  them  out  of  the  best  theaters.  A  famous  English 
actor  had  to  appear  for  two  weeks  in  a  tent  out  West 
because  he  declined  to  give  them  more  than  a  fair 
share  of  the  profits.     But  I  don't  think  Gorman  will 


364  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

try  to  rule  in  this  field  further  than  to  see  that  his 
critics  discourage  reformatory  plays." 

After  the  first  act  they  all  strolled  in  the  lobby  again, 
and  when  they  had  returned  to  their  box,  Theodora 
asked  Delaval  who  the  gentleman  was  that  he  had 
talked  with  in  front  of  the  tablet  of  names. 

"Oh,  that  was  a  dramatic  critic  on  the  one  remain- 
ing newspaper  in  this  town  that  criticises  the  'Em- 
peror' in  any  way.  He  was  telling  me  a  story  that  is 
very  interesting,  but  which  no  one  will  dare  to  print. 
It  has  to  do  with  Mr.  Gorman's  personal  interest  in 
theatrical  life.  It  involves  the  name  of  a  professional 
actress.    Shall  I  tell  it  ?" 

"Yes,  do,"  said  Mrs.  Lamar  and  Mercedes  together. 
Theodora  looked  indifferent.  She  had  long  since 
ceased  to  regard  Gorman  as  her  father,  and  felt  only 
an  impersonal  concern  in  what  was  said  of  him. 

"Well,"  said  Delaval,  "it  explains  the  mystery  of 
the  Myrtle  Belden  Theater.  You  know  that  many 
people  have  wondered  how  a  young  and  beautiful  but 
not  especially  clever  actress  could  be  the  first  woman 
in  America  to  have  a  theater  of  her  own.  Her  new 
playhouse  is  a  marble  gem.  It  is  not  large,  but  in 
every  way  it  is  a  perfect  theater.  Her  husband,  whom 
she  has  recently  divorced,  is  an  actor  who  was  never 
known  to  possess  a  fortune.  A  year  ago  he  was  bank- 
rupt, and  now  he  is  a  Wall  Street  financier,  promot- 
ing companies  of  large  capital.  But  the  Belden  Thea- 
ter was  still  more  of  a  mystery  than  that,  for  it  cost 
something  near  half  a  million,  and  there  is  no  mort- 
gage on  it.  The  mystery  now  seems  explained  by 
the  fact  that  Myrtle  Belden  and  the  'Emperor'  have 
frequently  been  seen  together  at  foreign  watering 
places,  besides  traveling  to  and  from  Europe  on  the 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  365 

same  steamer — the  Jupiter,  the  most  palatial  of  the 
Gorman  boats." 

"But  didn't  he  think  a  great  deal  of  another  actress, 
Mrs.  Lionel  Barton  ?"  Lyle  asked. 

"He  did,  until  she  ran  off  and  married  a  young 
actor.  About  this  time  Myrtle  Belden  took  her  first 
trip  abroad,  on  the  Jupiter,  which  is  the  'Emperor's' 
favorite  steamer.  The  critic  tells  me  he  heard  that 
she  deliberately  sought  to  attract  his  notice  by  engag- 
ing a  stateroom  near  his,  and  throwing  herself  in  his 
way  during  the  trip.  If  that  is  so,  hers  was  much 
like  the  method  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  who  fre- 
quently went  driving  in  the  park  at  Versailles  until 
she  attracted  the  attention  of  Louis." 

"And  Gorman  is  past  three  score  years  of  age !"  re- 
marked Lamar.  "In  fact,  he  is  very  near  seventy 
now.  His  vitality,  mental  and  physical,  is  a  cause  of 
never  ceasing  wonder  to  me." 

There  was  an  expression  of  relief  on  his  face,  and 
on  that  of  his  wife,  when  Delaval's  story  was  finished. 

Mercedes  also  was  not  sorry  to  hear  of  the  episode. 
She  had  never  ceased  to  fear  Gorman,  although  her 
trepidation  had  become  less  and  less  as  the  years 
passed.  How  long  ago  it  now  seemed  that  she  had 
been — had  been — no,  she  could  not  finish  that  phrase, 
even  in  her  own  mind.  And  she  was  still  youthful 
and  beautiful.  What  would  she  have  been  by  this 
time  if  Lyle  had  not  come  into  her  life!  Some  day 
she  meant  to  tell  him  everything,  for  she  knew  that 
he  would  be  great  enough  to  understand.  Together 
they  had  grown  to  a  higher  plane,  and  they  should 
have  no  secrets  from  each  other,  and  yet 

She  debated  with  herself  through  the  entire  play, 
watching  Lyle's  handsome   face  as  he  drank  in  the 


366  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

poetic  beauty  of  the  lines  recited  by  the  actors,  but 
she  could  come  to  no  conclusion. 

The  last  act  was  nearing  its  close  when  an  usher 
entered  the  box  with  a  sealed  envelope  in  his  hand. 
"For  Mr.  Delaval,"  he  said,  "from  the  literary  direc- 
tor." Delaval,  who  was  smiling  happily  with  Theodora 
over  some  bit  of  dialogue,  turned  to  receive  the 
message. 

"Probably  wants  to  see  me  about  my  play,"  he  mut- 
tered, as  he  opened  the  envelope.  He  read  the  enclo- 
sure, and  then  turned  a  blanched  face  toward  his 
friends. 

"Read  it,"  he  said,  in  a  hoarse  voice,  handing  the 
paper  to  Lyle,  and  Lyle  read  in  low  tones,  while  the 
others  bent  their  heads  to  listen : 


"Dear  Mr.  Delaval:  I  must  resign  to-morrow  as  lit- 
erary director  of  this  theater,  and  one  of  the  consequences 
will  be  that  your  play  cannot  be  produced  here.  Mr.  C. 
Jefferson  Gorman,  as  a  condition  to  an  additional  donation 
of  $1,000,000  to  the  National  Theater,  has  insisted  upon  the 
appointment  of  the  majority  of  the  board  of  directors, 
who  will  name  his  choice  for  literary  director.  His  is  by 
far  the  largest  individual  gift,  and  was  too  great  a  bait 
to  be  refused,  as  it  puts  the  theater  entirely  out  of  debt. 
My  successor  is  to  be  Fullerton,  ex-dramatic  critic  on 
Gorman's  Luminary,  as  you  know.  He  came  in  to-night, 
and  announced  that  he  would  take  charge  in  the  morning. 
One  of  the  first  things  he  said  was  that  your  play  would 
be  returned  to  you  at  once  as  unavailable.  I  have  a 
suggestion  to  make  concerning  its  possible  appearance 
elsewhere,  but  so  far  as  this  theater  is  concerned,  the  case 
is  now  hopeless.  Meet  me  at  the  Fine  Arts  Club  to- 
morrow at  2,  and  I  will  give  you  further  details.  Sympa- 
thetically and  cordially  yours,  Horace  Filbin." 

"So  much  for  pure  drama  in  America,"  remarked 
Delaval  bitterly,  as,  with  a  bloodless  face,  but  smiling 
cynically,  he  led  the  way  slowly  out  of  the  box. 

Theodora  clung  to  his  arm,  and,  leaning  close  to  him 


THE  AMERICAN   EMPEROR  367 

as  they  passed  through  the  lobby,  whispered  in  his  ear, 
"Never  mind,  dear.  I'll  marry  you  anyhow.  I  love 
you  now  more  than  ever,  because  you  need  me  more." 


CHAPTER    X 


THE  PEOPLE  NEED  A  LESSON 


"Blood  will  be  spilt — I  feel  it  in  the  very  air," 
said  Lamar,  one  morning,  a  month  later,  as  he  entered 
the  office  of  the  Progress  Magazine.  He  was  pale 
and  worn,  and  his  eyes  looked  as  though  he  had  tossed 
upon  a  sleepless  bed.  He  seemed  to  have  aged  a  decade 
in  a  month. 

"Do  you  mean  a  panic?"  asked  Delaval,  laying  aside 
a  pencil  with  which  he  had  just  finished  an  unusually 
bitter  editorial  against  a  general  advance  in  railway 
rates.  One  of  the  strongest  arguments  he  had  urged 
was  that  the  railroads  entering  the  metropolis  were 
making  the  legions  of  commuters  from  the  suburbs  pay 
higher  prices  for  tickets  in  order  to  build  two  hand- 
some new  stations  which  the  railroad  would,  of  course, 
continue  to  own.  Each  station  would  cost  at  least 
five  million  dollars.  This  method  of  forcing  the  public 
to  pay  for  these  accommodations  in  advance,  even 
granting  that  private  ownership  was  just,  was  a  rever- 
sal of  an  established  economic  principle. 

"Yes,  a  panic,"  replied  Lamar.  "The  word  has 
gone  forth.  I  get  it  from  underground  sources  which 
I  cannot  doubt.  The  throne  has  decreed  that  the 
President  and  the  people  need  a  lesson.  Oh,  that 
such  things  can  be,  in  this  day  and  age  and  country, 


368  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

with  no  earthly  power  to  prevent !  We  shall  be  ruined, 
my  wife  and  I,  but  that  will  be  only  incidental.  We 
will  be  but  two  in  the  multitude.  Think  of  the  general 
havoc  that  must  be  wrought !" 

"How  do  you  know  he  still  seeks  your  ruin?" 

"Through  purchased  directors  he  has  loaded  up 
the  Atlantic  Trust  with  questionable  securities.  Be- 
sides the  Alabama  Coal  and  Iron  stock,  he  has  unloaded 
on  us,  in  exchange  for  gold,  a  large  block  of  old  Char- 
ley Stine's  Monongahela  Valley  Coal  stock.  Horton, 
the  head  of  Horton's  bank,  who  is  one  of  my  closest 
friends,  and  has  been  one  of  our  directors,  opposed 
this  deal  so  strongly  that  the  Gorman  directors  have 
forced  him  to  resign  from  the  board.  And  now  a 
receiver  has  been  named  for  the  Monongahela  com- 
pany, and  it  has  been  shown  that  its  stock  is  worth 
but  twenty  dollars  a  share,  instead  of  the  ninety  we 
were  forced  to  pay. 

"But  that  is  mere  business  detail,"  he  continued. 
"What  makes  me  certain  that  he  is  deliberately  striking 
at  me  is  another  attempt  to  get  Mrs.  Lamar  to  visit 
him.  It  was  this  way:  Two  weeks  ago  a  society 
woman  called  on  her,  and  after  a  lot  of  inconsequen- 
tial talk  asked  her,  in  a  seemingly  casual  manner,  why 
she  didn't  accept  any  invitations  to  the  Gormans',  and 
always  avoided  affairs  which  they  attended.  My  wife 
said  she  preferred  her  own  friends.  'Well/  her  visitor 
replied,  'it  would  certainly  be  to  the  interest  of  both 
yourself  and  your  husband  to  be  more  friendly  in  that 
direction.' " 

"Why,  he  must  be  an  insatiable  beast  in  love — or  lust 
— as  well  as  in  vengeance,"  said  Delaval.  "And  to 
think  that  there  is  no  way  you  can  strike  at  him.  If 
you  were  to  send  him  a  challenge  to  a  duel  you  would 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  369 

be  arrested.  If  you  were  to  slap  his  face  publicly 
you  would  be  branded  as  a  maniac,  and  perhaps  con- 
fined for  the  rest  of  your  natural  life." 

"Yes,  I  feel  like  a  man  being  condemned  to  death 
without  a  trial,  for  having  offended  some  invisible 
and  terrible  monster,  against  whom  all  weapons  are 
powerless.    I " 

Mrs.  Lamar,  with  a  white  and  haggard  face,  entered 
the  office  at  this  instant. 

"They  told  me  at  the  trust  company  that  I  would 
find  you  here,"  she  said,  after  asking  Delaval's  pardon 
for  her  interruption.  "That  woman  has  been  to  see 
me  again,  John,"  she  continued.  "She  repeated  what 
she  said  the  last  time.  She  made  no  threats,  and  de- 
clared, when  I  asked  her  what  her  motives  were,  that 
she  only  wanted  to  see  us  friendly  with  her  great  and 
good  friend,  and  so  I  could  not  order  her  to  leave 
my  house.  But,  oh !  John,  I  do  think  we  ought  to  go 
away  somewhere— to  our  friends  in  England,  or  to 
France,  or  anywhere  away  from  America.  We  have 
yet  money  enough  to  live  comfortably  upon  for  some 
years  if " 

"No!  no!"  And  Lamar  rose,  and  began  to  pace 
the  office  floor.  "That  would  be  desertion  under  fire. 
You  see,  many  of  my  friends  are  interested  in  the 
Atlantic  Trust,  and  if  I  were  to  run  away  now  they 
would  all  be  ruined,  I  fear.  Come,  dear,  and  let  me 
take  you  to  a  carriage.  As  soon  as  I  am  through 
talking  to  Mr.  Delaval  I  will  return  home  at  once. 
But  please  calm  yourself.  There  is  no  immediate 
danger." 

They  went  out  together,  and  five  minutes  later 
Lamar  re-entered  the  office.     "It  is  through  women 


370  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

that  he  strikes  his  deadliest  blows,"  he  remarked  as 
he  sat  down. 

"He  is  still  hitting-  at  us,  too,"  said  Delaval.  "Every- 
day or  so  we  lose  a  big  advertiser,  or  we  are  hampered 
in  some  other  way,  such  as  by  the  loss  of  a  contributor 
who  is  paid  higher  prices  to  leave  us,  and  write  for 
one  of  the  conservative  magazines.  We  have  begun 
to  lose  money,  but  we  will  sink  our  craft,  if  necessary, 
with  all  the  colors  flying,  before  we  surrender." 

"Are  you  going  to  try  to  produce  your  play  again?" 

"Yes,  but  not  in  New  York.  The  only  theater  we 
could  get  here  was  a  secondary  one,  and,  as  you  know, 
the  performance  was  ignored  or  condemned  by  those 
critics  who  did  not  seek  to  damn  it  with  faint  praise. 
There  was  one  exception — Summers  of  the  Forum,  the 
oldest  and  ablest  dramatic  critic  in  America.  He 
praised  it,  and  a  week  later  he  was  forced  to  resign 
on  some  flimsy  pretext.  After  four  nights  the  play 
was  taken  off.  We  shall  next  try  some  big  Western 
city,  like  Chicago  or  San  Francisco,  where  the  spirit 
of  freedom  is  still  strong." 

"Ah,  yes,  the  West  seems  to  be  the  only  hope  of 
the  republic,"  mused  Lamar,  thoughtfully.  "That  is 
where  the  new  President  is  from — the  first  President 
in  a  generation  to  oppose  Gorman  and  his  crowd." 

"And  the  first  President  since  the  first  few  decades 
of  the  nation's  existence  who  was  not  a  self-made  man 
or  a  lawyer,"  added  Delaval.  "He  was  elected  to  the 
presidency  as  a  conservative.  But  it  seems  that  was 
only  a  mask.  Just  as  before  the  Civil  War  no  man 
could  become  President  against  the  wishes  of  the  slave 
power,  so  now  none  can  gain  that  office  against  the 
desires  of  Gorman." 

"But  even  this  one  is  only  relatively  against  him." 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  371 

said  Lamar.  "He  doesn't  dare  go  so  far  as  to  favor 
regulation  of  the  Stock  Exchange,  or  government 
ownership  of  railways.  But  do  you  know  that  not 
one  thing  has  been  accomplished  in  the  way  of  reform, 
even  by  this  President?  When  he  forces  a  reluctant 
Congress  to  pass  an  occasional  law,  the  courts  kill  it. 
The  courts — oh,  the  courts — what  a  mockery  they  have 
become !  Have  you  seen  a  picture  of  the  new  Federal 
Supreme  Court's  chief  justice,  appointed  before  this 
President  took  office?  God,  but  what  a  face  he  has! 
It  is  like  that  of  a  successful  Bowery  ward  heeler : 
fat,  large-jowled,  sordid,  coarse  and  terrible.  Bloody 
Jeffreys  would  have  been  fair  to  look  upon  compared 
with  him." 

"But  if  this  panic  takes  place,"  Delaval  said,  after 
a  time,  "I'm  afraid  it  will  ruin  us  all.  If  we  survive, 
however,  I  want  to  write  the  history  of  it,  with  all 
the  whys  and  wherefores.  Will  you  enlighten  me 
on  one  point  ?    Just  how  can  the  thing  be  precipitated  ?" 

Lyle  entered  at  this  moment,  and  awaited  with 
interest  the  answer  to  this  question. 

Lamar  walked  up  and  down  for  a  while  to  steady 
his  nerves.  He  was  about  to  begin  his  explanation 
when  a  street  piano  in  the  parkway  below  started  the 
miserere  from  "II  Trovatore."  When  the  music  ceased 
he  remarked,  "The  poor  man  who  turned  that  crank, 
and  the  people  who  listened,  little  think  how  appro- 
priate to  the  hour  the  music  is. 

"But  I  will  try  to  answer  your  question,"  he  went 
on.  "I  think  I  can  demonstrate  with  mathematical 
exactness  how  the  panic  can  be  brought  on,  though 
the  details  as  to  when,  and  in  what  particular,  certain 
things  may  be  expedited  are,  of  course,  beyond  me. 
Gorman  and  his  allies,  you  know,  now  control  ninety 


372  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

per  cent,  of  the  banking  strength  of  the  metropolis, 
and  the  banks  here  handle  two-thirds  of  the  nation's 
finances.  He  and  those  who  usually  act  with  him 
in  big  deals  control,  besides,  hundreds  of  millions  of 
insurance  funds,  and  a  hundred  millions  or  more  that 
several  big  railway  systems  keep  ready  for  speculative 
uses.  This  group  of  men  thus  have  at  their  command 
most  of  the  three  billions  of  dollars  in  actual  cash  in 
the  entire  country.  This  three  billions  represent  but 
two  per  cent,  of  the  country's  business,  the  rest  being 
done  on  credit.  When  credit  is  good  three  billions 
is  enough  cash.  With  a  strong,  reliable  government 
in  control  of  all  money,  there  would  never  be  any 
doubt  of  credit  in  times  of  peace  and  plenty.  But 
with  the  immense  preponderance  of  the  medium  of 
circulation  in  the  hands  of  a  few  men,  with  contempt 
for  a  feeble  government,  the  temptation  to  punish  that 
government  when  it  interferes  with  them,  to  their  great 
loss,  is  irresistible. 

"Now  as  to  method:  They  will  probably  withdraw 
the  money  they  control  from  general  circulation  at  a 
certain  hour;  sap,  as  it  were,  the  veins  of  commerce 
of  its  life  blood  until  the  body  politic  staggers  from 
weakness,  and  then  give  back  that  blood  upon  their 
own  terms.  Silently  the  pipes  which  connect  with  all 
the  money  vaults  will  be  operated  until  all  the  gold 
and  silver  and  bank  notes  have  been  transferred  to 
the  banks  of  the  clique.  Stocks  of  seeming  value  in 
steel  and  coal  and  railway  and  iron  and  other  com- 
panies will  be  left  in  the  hands  of  the  investors,  or 
in  the  vaults  of  banks  not  favored  by  the  inner  circle, 
in  place  of  the  cash ;  and  then  a  bank  failure  here  and 
there,  or  a  gloomy  crop  report,  or  rumors  of  war,  or 
something  else  that   sounds   plausible,   will   be   used 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  373 

to  start  the  machinery  of  the  Stock  Exchange  in 
motion  to  destroy  values " 

"But  that  would  be  fiendish— it  would  amount  to 
wholesale  murder!"  cried  Lyle. 

"Can  you  doubt  that  the  men  who  have  separately 
manipulated  steel  and  copper  and  railways  and  the 
other  things— can  you  doubt  that  these  men  would 
manipulate  everything  at  once  if  they  saw  enough  gain 
in  prospect?"  inquired  Lamar. 

"No — and  yet— and  yet  it  is  playing  with  dynamite, 
which  might  easily  explode  too  soon,  and  destroy  the 
users,"  said  Lyle. 

"It  might,"  replied  Lamar,  "if  the  users  were  not 
so  expert.  But  these  men  of  banded  infamies  are 
master  hands  at  this  gruesome  game." 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE  PRELUDE 

In  a  large  gray  stone  temple  in  the  city  of  Charleston, 
on  an  autumn  morning  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1907, 
the  Episcopal  Church  of  the  United  States  began  its 
triennial  convention.  The  town  from  which,  in  olden 
times,  pirates  exacted  tribute,  and  where  the  Civil 
War  opened  with  the  firing  upon  Fort  Sumter,  had 
been  chosen  as  the  meeting  place  mainly  because  of 
the  atmosphere  of  restful  quiet  that  had  descended 
upon  it  in  these  latter  days.  This  atmosphere,  so 
free  of  the  commercialism  rampant  in  other  cities, 
was  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  religion  itself,  and 
tended  to  promote  contemplation  of  the  inner  beauties 


374  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

of  life  as  opposed  to  the  outward  forms.  Thus  had 
Mr.  C.  Jefferson  Gorman  reasoned  in  urging  upon  his 
fellow  religious  workers  the  selection  of  the  Southern 
city. 

And  among  all  the  somberly  clad  gentlemen  who 
had  come  this  morning  down  the  broad,  sycamore-lined 
avenue  that  led  to  the  ivy-hung  church,  none  was  more 
grave  and  reverential  of  mien  than  he.  For  he  was 
there,  burdened  in  the  interest  of  morality  and  religion, 
with  a  plan  for  stricter  divorce  laws  throughout  the 
country.  Under  arched  and  groined  ceilings,  in  the 
mellow  light  that  came  through  stained  glass  windows, 
he  walked  among  the  delegates,  holding  personal  con- 
fabs before  the  meeting  opened.  He  placed  fraternal 
hands  upon  priestly  forms  encased  in  buttonless  vests, 
and  into  ears  that  protruded  above  sacerdotal  collars 
he  poured  earnest  pleas.  Among  the  lay  brothers,  too, 
he  circulated,  talking  in  low  tones  while  the  droning 
voice  of  the  secretary  read  formal  announcements  or 
called  the  roll. 

And  with  all  these  men,  who  knew  him  for  his 
piety  and  his  philanthropy,  his  word  had  great  weight. 
Often  before  had  his  voice  been  raised  in  protest 
against  the  alarming  growth  of  divorce,  and  at  his 
behest  resolutions  had  been  passed  by  various  church 
conventions.  But  now  he  had  a  more  definite  plan. 
He  proposed  that  all  the  States  be  represented  in  a 
conference,  where  a  uniform  divorce  law  should  be 
drafted.  The  New  York  statute  making  adultery  the 
sole  cause  was  his  model.  He  did  not  suggest  a 
national  law.  No,  he  was  in  favor  of  preserving  as 
sacred  all  the  rights  of  the  States  just  as  they  were 
handed  down  by  the  fathers  of  the  republic. 

"Just  think,  gentlemen,"  he  said,  "one  home  in  every 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  375 

seven  or  eight  is  wrecked  by  the  severing  of  matri- 
mony's holy  ties.  The  divorce  evil  has  doubled  in 
less  than  a  generation,  and  this  in  spite  of  the  excellent 
laws  in  several  States.  The  weak  point  of  our  system 
is  the  ease  with  which  a  married  person  may  step 
from  one  State  having  strict  laws  into  another  with 
loose  laws,  and  be  quickly  freed  from  all  of  his  or  her 
sacred  obligations." 

"Hear !  hear !"  cried  the  pious  assemblage,  and  with- 
out a  dissenting  vote  they  passed  his  resolution.  Of 
course,  this  meeting,  in  which  clerics  and  laymen 
had  an  equal  voice,  was  only  the  lower  house  of  the 
church  congress.  The  bishops,  who  met  separately, 
constituted  a  kind  of  senate,  which  could  nullify  any 
of  its  acts.  But  also,  of  course,  the  bishops  would 
not  oppose  so  good  a  measure  as  this,  when  championed 
by  so  worthy  a  lay  brother.  Was  not  Brother  Gorman 
always  keenly  interested  in  everything  pertaining  to  the 
welfare  of  the  church,  giving  freely  of  his  invaluable 
time,  and  bestowing  princely  sums  in  a  way  that  ce- 
mented more  and  more  the  bonds  between  him  and 
his  life-long  associates  in  the  cause  of  Christ? 

Moreover,  the  worthy  brother  was  kindness  and 
hospitality  itself  on  such  occasions  as  this.  All  the 
bishops  from  his  State  were  his  personal  guests  at  this 
convention.  He  had  brought  them  in  a  special  train 
made  up  of  luxurious  sleeping  and  dining  cars,  with 
the  finest  chefs  to  prepare  their  food,  and  the  most 
obedient  servants  to  wait  upon  them,  and  all  without 
a  cent  of  cost  to  any  of  them.  And  his  good  wife — 
she  of  the  aging  face  and  the  melancholy  mien — she 
was  so  gracious  and  hospitable  to  them  all  in  the 
Gorman  private  car  where  she  and  her  husband  stayed 
during  the  convention  week,  instead  of  at  a  hotel. 


376  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

On  the  fourth  morning,  as  he  was  rising  in  his  place 
to  speak  upon  a  matter  of  diocesan  government,  in 
support  of  a  motion  by  his  beloved  pastor,  a  messenger 
boy  entered  the  wide-arched  central  doorway,  and, 
guided  by  softly  spoken  words  of  direction,  made  his 
way  down  the  carpeted  aisle  to  his  side.  Gorman  took 
the  yellow  envelope,  opened  it,  and  in  the  light  that 
poured  on  him  like  a  halo,  through  an  angel's  amber 
wing  in  a  stained  glass  window,  read  the  message : 

"Things  have  begun  to  happen. 
Come  and  join  us.  Burton." 

It  was  the  signal  agreed  upon.  But  Gorman's  face 
betrayed  no  sign  of  agitation  as  he  made  the  little 
speech  he  had  intended,  in  support  of  his  pastor's 
motion,  and  then  asked  to  be  excused,  as  urgent  busi- 
ness called  him  away  from  the  convention.  His  plea 
reluctantly  granted,  he  walked  quickly  down  the  aisle, 
shook  hands  with  several  regretful  brethren  near  the 
door,  and  stepped  into  a  waiting  carriage.  Half  an 
hour  later  his  private  car  was  speeding  northward 
behind  a  special  engine.  The  next  morning  he  was 
in  panic-crazed  New  York. 


CHAPTER    XII 

THE    PANIC 


If  airships  had  been  in  such  safe  and  general  use 
as  automobiles,  Gorman  might  have  got  aboard  one 
that  day  and,  like  the  lordly  condor  of  the  Andes 
scenting  prey,  winged  his  course  above  the  turbulent 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  377 

canons  of  the  financial  district.  Instead,  he  assumed 
a  character  more  like  that  of  the  stormy  petrel,  which 
is  said  to  walk  the  water  as  it  rejoices  in  the  familiar 
fury  of  the  maelstrom.  He  was  driven  about  in  his 
closed  touring  car,  the  shades  of  which  were  carefully 
drawn,  while  through  tiny  holes  he  looked  out  upon 
the  scenes  of  disorder  and  despair. 

There  had  been  panics  before,  but  none  to  equal 
this.  Rivers  of  people,  of  both  sexes  and  of  all  ages, 
flowed  noisily  about  the  feet  of  the  towering  archi- 
tectural crags  that  lined  the  narrow  thoroughfares. 
Some  of  the  men  were  hatless,  and  some  were  coatless, 
though  the  winds  from  off  the  bay  were  cold,  and  keen- 
edged  from  dampness.  Squads  of  mounted  police  rode 
among  the  crowds,  trying  to  keep  them  in  a  semblance 
of  order,  but,  like  boulders  flung  in  a  torrent,  only 
added  to  the  turbulence. 

The  Gorman  car  was  well  known  to  the  police,  and 
they  were  at  special  pains  to  make  a  passage  for  it, 
although  they  could  not  see  its  occupant.  And  so 
by  their  aid  he  skimmed  along  untouched  by  the  tu- 
multuous waves  of  humanity.  These  waves  were  lit- 
tered with  the  wreckage  of  ruined  lives,  and  were 
vocal  with  sobs  and  oaths  and  shrieks  of  despair. 
Mingled  with  these  sounds  were  the  cries  of  newsboys, 
telling  tales  of  falling  values,  of  crumbling  banks,  and 
of  the  suicides  of  their  officers  and  depositors. 

At  times  he  heard,  rising  above  the  general  roar, 
strident  voices  that  cursed  the  President  This  was 
music  to  his  ears.  It  was  the  responsive  part  of  the 
battle  fugue  which  he  had  started  by  ordering  his 
soldiery  of  printer's  ink  to  charge  the  panic  to  the 
man  whom  it  had  been  brought  about  to  discredit 
and  punish. 


378  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

Before  the  doors  of  many  banks  and  trust  com- 
panies were  long  lines  of  people,  for  desperate  "runs" 
on  these  institutions  had  begun.  And  there,  in  the 
block  ahead,  he  beheld  a  scene  that  made  his  pulses 
beat  quicker  and  drew  from  his  lips  a  sigh  of  satisfac- 
tion. Beginning  at  the  gray  marble  pillars  of  the 
Atlantic  Trust  Company  was  the  longest  line  of  all. 
It  extended  an  entire  block  before  it  was  lost  to  view 
around  a  corner.  Some  of  these  people  had  been  up 
all  night,  and  friends  had  brought  them  chairs  and 
campstools  to  relieve  their  weariness.  Others,  in  their 
weakness,  leaned  against  buildings  or  upon  each  other. 
Many  were  thinly  clad,  and  these  the  raw  winds 
scourged  and  set  a-shuddering  at  times,  as  though  from 
the  lash  of  whips.  In  this  line  the  night  before  there 
had  been  young  faces  and  middle-aged  faces,  and  faces 
of  the  aged,  but  now  all  were  old  faces,  and  some  were 
like  the  faces  of  the  dead. 

A  woman,  tottering  from  age  and  weakness,  was 
carried  from  the  line  to  an  ambulance  as  Gorman 
passed.  ''She's  been  here  eighteen  hours,  and  she 
must  have  caught  her  death  o'  cold,"  the  man  behind 
her  said  in  chattering  tones,  as  he  stepped  forward  to 
fill  the  gap  her  absence  made. 

The  crowd  was  thickest  here,  eddying  and  surging 
like  a  whirlpool  about  the  line  of  depositors,  the 
somber  hued  hats  of  the  men  giving  to  the  topmost 
waves  the  appearance  of  black  foam.  A  fog  settled 
down  over  the  scene,  and  strangely  distorted  shapes 
loomed  through  it.  Occasionally  a  man  would  break 
away  from  the  mass  of  people,  and,  seemingly  crazed 
by  his  losses  or  by  the  general  excitement,  go  up  a 
side  street  alone,  talking  and  gesticulating  to  himself, 
like  some  monstrous  chimpanzee. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  379 

On  the  East  Side,  among  the  poor  and  lowly,  the 
scenes  were  yet  more  desperate.  A  score  of  savings 
banks,  besieged  by  their  polyglot  depositors,  each  be- 
came a  Babel,  with  a  horde  of  shrieking,  wailing  men 
and  women  thronging  about.  Some  of  the  women 
came  with  breasts  bared  to  suckling  babes,  who  added 
their  feeble  cries  to  the  general  din.  These  banks, 
when  the  drain  upon  their  funds  grew  alarming, 
promptly  closed  their  doors  for  sixty  days,  as  the 
law  allowed ;  and  the  baffled  crowds,  fearing  what 
often  proved  true,  that  their  doors  would  never  open 
more,  threw  sticks  and  stones  through  window  panes, 
and  sometimes  fought  with  the  police  before  they  were 
driven  off". 

The  trouble  had  all  begun  when  it  was  discovered 
that  the  pieces  of  paper  with  which  every  one  was 
doing  business  had  suddenly  lost  their  value.  The 
gold  and  silver  they  represented  had  vanished  into 
bank  vaults,  and  the  banks,  upon  which  the  people 
had  so  fondly  relied,  would  not  give  back  the  cash. 
The  men  they  had  voted  into  office  to  serve  as  a  gov- 
ernment could  not  help  them.  The  banking  power 
was  the  real  government,  although  they  knew  it  not 
And  it  was  a  false,  a  traitorous  government.  Like  a 
confidence  man,  it  had  taken  the  people's  money,  leav- 
ing only  a  stack  of  worthless  paper  behind.  And  now, 
deluded  and  desperate,  many  of  those  who  had  any 
funds  at  all  remaining,  were  turning  to  that  shadow 
of  the  government  which  they  thought  real,  but  which, 
shadowy  as  it  was,  was  yet  more  to  be  trusted  than 
the  real,  and  taking  out  postal  money  orders.  Instead 
of  receiving  interest  upon  this  money,  as  they  would 
have  received  from  postal  savings  banks  in  Europe, 


380  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

they  paid  fees  to  have  their  cash  kept  safe  from  the 
banks,  and  were  glad  to  do  it. 

Those  national  banks  and  trust  companies  not  owned 
by  the  inner  circle  were  paying  their  clamorous  depos- 
itors with  clearing  house  certificates.  But  it  was  neces- 
sary to  have  the  confidence  of  the  inner  circle  before 
even  this  refuge  could  be  seized  upon.  And  such 
refuge  was  now  denied  many  a  tottering  concern 
which  in  prosperous  times  had  offended  the  central 
power,  and  these  concerns  were  falling  upon  every 
hand — falling  by  the  weight  of  securities  from  which 
the  water  had  been  squeezed  through  stock  market 
manipulations.  With  this  water  went  the  blood  of 
many  victims,  for  prices  had  dropped  ten  billions  in 
a  week,  and  many  fortunes,  great  and  small,  vanished 
into  nothingness  by  this  wondrous  legerdemain  which 
so  few  could  understand. 

It  was  all  like  some  great  and  sudden  upheaval  of 
nature,  causeless  so  far  as  mortal  eye  could  see,  con- 
trary to  all  known  laws,  and  as  widespread  in  the 
destruction  wrought  as  though  it  were  a  deliberate 
visitation  sent  by  a  revengeful  and  terrible  deity.  While 
New  York  was  the  storm  center,  the  entire  country 
was  swept  by  the  cataclysmal  breath.  From  North 
and  South  and  West  came  appeals  for  money  to  keep 
turning  the  wheels  of  industry,  and  these  appeals  were 
being  made  in  vain.  The  golden  grain  harvested  by 
happy  workers  to  the  music  of  clicking  scythes  and 
humming  reapers  now  rotted  in  the  fields,  and  the 
song  of  the  machinery  in  many  a  mill  and  factory  was 
stilled.  Millions  denied  themselves  amusement,  and 
theaters  closed  by  the  score.  Other  people  added 
travel  and  new  clothes,  books  and  pictures,  wine  and 
choice  foods  to  the  luxuries  they  must  forego.     Rail- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  381 

roads  ceased  to  lay  new  tracks,  and  ran  fewer  trains, 
and  the  blight  on  all  business  spread,  and  yet  more 
legions  joined  the  hungry  and  idle  throngs  in  city 
streets  and  swelled  the  chorus  of  suffering  to  a  mighty 
miserere. 

For  more  than  an  hour  Gorman's  car  was  driven 
about  among  such  scenes  before  he  directed  its 
course  toward  his  own  office.  As  he  neared  the 
familiar  corner  he  saw  crowds  of  pale  and  haggard 
brokers  running  hither  and  thither,  and  shoals  of  dis- 
charged and  aimless  clerks  filling  the  street  from  curb 
to  curb.  When  his  car  was  recognized,  many  paused 
to  watch  it,  and  a  few  started  to  cheer  and  clap  their 
hands.  But  before  any  demonstration  so  suggestive 
of  the  Juggernaut  could  gain  headway,  the  car  halted, 
and  his  well  known  face  and  form  emerged,  and  then 
quickly  vanished  into  a  side  entrance  of  the  building. 
Lackeys  were  waiting  there  to  usher  him  into  his 
private  office. 

"The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  would  like  to  talk 
with  you  on  the  telephone,"  a  clerk  told  him,  and  he 
smiled  a  grim  smile.  "They're  coming  to  time  down 
in  Washington,"  he  remarked  to  Bronson  and  Burton, 
who  were  among  the  first  to  bring  him  news  of  how 
the  battle  was  going. 

When  he  came  out  of  the  telephone  booth  three 
minutes  later  he  said:  "The  Secretary  wants  to  know 
if  I'll  co-operate  in  stopping  the  panic.  I  told  him  to 
come  down  here  and  talk  it  over,  if  he  wants  to,  damn 
him !"    The  others  asked  no  questions. 

He  had  just  sat  down  to  listen  to  a  plea  for  funds 
from  an  opposing  banker,  whom  he  had  brought  to 
his  knees,  when,  above  the  sullen  roar  of  the  streets, 
sounded  a  shrill  voice,  crying,  "Latest  noos !    All  about 


382  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

th'  anarchist  tryin'  to  explode  a  bomb  in  th'  Stock 
Exchange !" 

"By  God,  this  is  serious !"  Gorman  declared,  his 
eyes  narrowing,  while  the  color  left  his  cheeks.  He 
dismissed  the  banker  with  a  curt  half  promise,  and 
went  into  an  inner  room  to  talk  with  the  governors 
of  the  Exchange,  who  had  hurried  over  to  see  him. 
And  a  rule  was  there  made  that  no  visitors  were 
thenceforth  to  be  allowed  within  the  walls  of  that 
gilded  mart  unless  taken  in  personally  by  a  member. 

As  soon  as  they  heard  of  the  master's  return,  many 
men  of  power,  each  in  his  own  circle,  hastened  to 
his  side  to  plead  for  his  aid.  There  were  terrified 
bankers  and  traders  and  manufacturers,  and  there 
were  politicians,  including  several  Senators,  and  the 
Governor,  and  finally  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
came  to  sue  for  peace  in  the  name  of  the  President. 
To  no  one  else  could  they  look  for  the  exercise  of 
that  supreme  power  which  in  any  country  must  reside 
in  some  one  place. 

And  so  on  through  that  day  and  the  next  day,  and 
the  next,  and  the  next,  and  the  next,  like  a  master 
musician  at  a  great  organ,  he  played  upon  the  keys 
of  the  wonderful  instrument  he  had  built  for  the  ruling 
of  a  nation.  He  touched  a  key,  and  in  trumpet  tones 
the  stock  market  was  told  that  the  shares  of  the 
Alabama  Coal  and  Iron  Company  had  dropped  thirty 
points,  and  a  hundred  men  fought  for  a  chance  to 
sell  these  shares  at  whatever  price  the  buyers  offered. 

He  touched  another  key,  and  in  a  thousand  cities 
the  clarion  notes  of  newsboys'  voices  cried  the  doleful 
fact  that  all  building  on  a  dozen  railway  lines  had 
ceased,  and  half  a  million  men  laid  down  their  tools 
to  join  the  army  of  the  unemployed. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  383 

He  opened  a  new  stop,  and  pressed  a  row  of  keys, 
and  "No  help  for  Horton's  bank!"  was  the  blast  that 
thundered  forth,  to  be  echoed  by  ten  thousand  mouths. 
Then  came  the  fall  of  the  rebellious  house,  and,  as  a 
reverberation,  the  trial  of  its  chief  for  making  false 
entries  in  its  books.  This  had  become  a  common 
crime  in  American  finance,  but  not  every  banker  who 
thus  sinned  was  owner  of  a  steamship  line  competing 
with  a  Gorman  railroad.  And  so  against  this  man  the 
law's  machinery  was  allowed  to  run  its  remorseless 
course,  and  prison  gates  swung  inward  to  receive 
him. 

The  pipes  that  ran  to  the  Clearing  House  were  next 
played  upon,  and  "Cease  to  clear  for  the  Atlantic 
Trust"  was  the  message  they  gave  out.  The  com- 
pany's doors  clanged  shut  in  the  face  of  unpaid, 
clamorous  thousands,  and  were  never  opened  more. 
And  the  reverberation  to  that  was  the  suicide  of  John 
Lamar. 

And  now  another  stop  was  opened,  and  Gorman 
swept  his  hand  across  the  lower  keys,  when,  like  the 
crash  of  cymbals,  came  the  edict  that  the  industry 
which  upheld  a  State  should  cease  to  be  unless  the 
Steel  Trust  could  absorb  its  only  rival.  While  all 
America  stood  dumb,  to  await  the  answer  from  the 
White  House,  discerning  ears  could  tell  that  the  pipes 
of  this  wondrous  organ  stretched  across  the  sea,  for 
notes  in  harmony  were  now  heard  in  cabled  plaints 
from  foreign  papers  that  the  panic  was  the  fruit  of 
presidential  folly. 

But  soon  the  soft  pedal  was  used,  and  then,  with 
modulated  accent,  tidings  were  sent  out  that  the  gloomy 
skies  seemed  clearing,  as  the  President  was  not  inclined 
to  halt  the  nuptial  rites  in  Steel.    Then  came,  in  joyous, 


384  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

flute-like  tones,  the  news  that  the  Treasury's  head  had 
come  to  aid  the  tottering  banks,  and  would  open  the 
national  vaults,  and  lend  to  them  ten  millions  without 
interest.  And  strange — yea,  passing  strange  to  tell — 
the  very  banks  that  had  most  need  of  these  funds  now 
were  the  banks  of  Gorman  and  his  allies.  The  cash 
was  lent,  and  quickly  was  exchanged  for  Gorman  stocks 
and  bonds. 

And  then  the  violin  stop  was  pulled,  and  next,  in 
sweet,  caressing  strains,  came  forth  a  plea  that  twenty 
millions  more  were  needed — and  twenty  millions  more 
were  lent.  And  few  who  heard  that  plea  suspected 
for  a  moment  the  great  suction  pipe  concealed  beneath 
the  marvelous  organ  to  exhaust  the  bank  vaults  of 
these  federal  funds  as  fast  they  were  put  there. 

And  so  the  frightful  symphony  played  on,  and  still 
the  blind  and  helpless  people  sat  as  spellbound,  or  they 
sang  and  danced  to  all  its  music  as  their  master  willed 
they  should,  and  all  the  while  were  led  to  greater  and 
yet  greater  ruin,  much  as  sheep  by  shepherd's  horn  are 
led  to  shambles. 

It  was  from  Washington  that  the  plea  for  truce 
had  come  at  last.  And  Gorman  sent  his  envoys  to  the 
lesser  capital  to  meet  the  President,  since  it  would 
not  have  been  well  so  to  humiliate  him  in  the  people's 
eyes  as  to  make  him  come  crawling  openly  to  the  Wall 
Street  throne.  There  was  still  some  fight  left  in  this 
presidential  person,  and  he  would  not  yield  all  things 
demanded.  But  with  the  roll  of  ruined  banks  and 
trust  concerns  above  the  hundred  mark,  suicides  num- 
bering a  hundred  and  fifty,  and  many  scores  of  other 
victims  started  on  the  way  to  prison,  with  crime  and 
misery  daily  growing,  and  popular  clamor  against  him 
hourly  rising,  he  yielded  the  main  demands. 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  385 

By  this  time  the  panic  had  reached  and  passed  the 
height  of  frenzy,  and  had  been  succeeded  by  a  dull 
despair.  The  market  had  fallen  to  a  point  whence 
it  could  go  no  lower.  The  Stock  Exchange  was  about 
to  close.  All  sales  had  stopped,  for  no  one  could  borrow 
the  money  with  which  to  bind  a  bargain.  Interest 
rates  had  mounted  to  a  hundred  per  cent.,  to  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty,  and  then  to  two  hundred  per  cent. 
One  might  have  offered  a  thousand  per  cent,  for  a 
large  sum  and  have  failed  to  get  it. 

The  hour  for  Gorman's  crowning  humiliation  of 
the  republic  he  had  overthrown  had  now  arrived,  and 
with  it  came  the  easiest  and  most  profitable  coup  of 
his  long  career.  When  the  terrified  supplicants  for 
his  aid  again  crowded  his  office  he  announced  that 
he  would  lend  thirty  millions  at  ten  per  cent.  At  the 
same  time  he  said,  "The  crisis  has  passed.  Business 
will  recover." 

Cheers  rang  through  the  streets,  and  on  the  floor 
of  the  Stock  Exchange  men  wept  for  joy.  In  front 
of  Gorman's  office  there  formed  a  mob  which  sang 
a  chorus  of  adulation,  and  a  thousand  daily  papers 
praised  him  as  the  nation's  savior. 

And  yet  this  giant  usury,  which  netted  him  three 
millions  at  one  sweep,  was  practiced  with  the  nation's 
funds,  while  his  own  reservoirs  of  gold  remained  un- 
touched, waiting  to  be  used  for  stock  market  bargains 
that  were  to  bring  him  many  millions  more.  His 
allies  profited,  too,  by  loaning  plundered  gold  at  the 
same  rate,  but  their  gains  were  fewer,  as  they  were 
allowed  to  absorb  less  of  the  loot  from  the  national 
treasury. 

The  chief  looters  had  hardly  gathered  in  their  spoils 
when,  as  a  postlude  to  it  all,  came  the  camp  followers 


386  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

on  the  scene — those  who  fight  in  no  war,  not  even 
in  one  like  this,  but  wait  for  the  conflict  to  end  and  the 
twilight  to  fall,  that  they  may  ply  their  trade  in  safety. 
They  were  of  various  names  and  forms  and  colors, 
but  they  were  harpies  all,  and  they  had  but  a  single 
motive.  Some  of  them  were,  to  the  public  view,  most 
grave  and  reverend  seigniors  of  the  law,  who,  ap- 
pointed by  those  of  their  profession  who  sat  in  judicial 
seats,  were  permitted  to  pick  clean  the  bones  of  the 
dead  and  rotting  institutions,  whose  remains  they  put 
in  order  as  receivers,  or  masters-in-chancery,  or  as  legal 
aids  of  such  court  officers.  The  receiver  of  the  Atlan- 
tic Trust  alone  plucked  off  a  hundred  thousand,  or 
more  than  a  tenth  of  its  remaining  funds,  for  a  few 
weeks  of  procrastinating  work,  and  his  helpers  took 
forty  thousand  more.  Widows  and  orphans  and  other 
robbed  depositors  bore  this  extra  loss.  And  so  it 
went  with  many  another  wrecked  concern,  and  some- 
times the  cries  of  the  vultures  fighting  over  the  carrion 
resounded  through  the  city,  in  disputes  among  officials 
as  to  who  had  the  better  right  there.  Other  birds  of 
prey,  too,  were  seen,  including  now  and  then  one  of 
yellow  plumage :  a  daily  newspaper  of  the  sensational 
sort,  which  threatened  exposure  of  dark  and  bloody 
secrets  unless  allowed  a  share  of  booty.  And  among 
the  flock,  with  talons  wide  outstretched,  was  the  owner 
of  the  country's  most  popular  magazine,  who,  in  return 
for  a  series  of  articles  about  Gorman's  greatness,  was 
told  when  to  buy  Steel  stock,  and  thus  he  tore  a  million 
in  profits  from  the  putrid  flesh  of  Wall  Street  victims. 
And  so  sounded  the  republic's  dirge  while  the  great- 
est vulture  of  them  all,  glutted  with  the  nation's  choicest 
carrion,  and  his  beak  dripping  blood,  flew  away  to 
rest  amid  the  palatial  splendors  of  his  British  eyrie, 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  387 

and  there  brood  upon  yet  other  conquests  which  were 
to  make  him  admired,  hated  and  feared  around  the 
world. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
the  bal  de  tete 

"Why  is  the  'Emperor'  so  pensive  to-night?"  asked 
the  Count  of  Chambord  of  the  Prince  of  Joinville. 

"Perhaps  because  his  Pompadour  is  not  here  to 
amuse  him." 

"Ah,  that  is  one  of  the  penalties  of  having  an 
actress  for  a  mistress.  I  remember  now  that  she  is 
touring  somewhere  in  the  western  provinces.  But 
would  she  be  admitted  to  this  ball  if  she  were  here?" 

"Most  certainly,  if  he  desired  it,  as  he  probably 
would.  Why,  they  travel  openly  together  in  going 
to  and  from  Europe  nowadays,  and  often  he  takes 
her  cruising  on  his  yacht.  No  one  in  society  would 
dare  to  shut  the  door  in  Myrtle  Belden's  face.  Sturte- 
vant's  wife  ignored  her  in  Newport— and  now  there 
is  a  new  president  of  the  Transcontinental  road,  and 
the  Sturtevants  find  themselves  on  the  ragged  edge 
of  society." 

The  two  noble  gentlemen— noble  in  appearance  if 
not  in  blood— were  lounging  in  the  smoking-room  of 
the  new  Gorman  palace  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson. 
Their  silken  coats  and  kneebreeches,  their  flowered 
waistcoats,  and  powdered  wigs,  and  lace  wristlets,  and 
their  jeweled  swords  and  shoe  buckles  were  as  perfect 
an  imitation  as  money  could  buy  of  the  costumes  of 
the  time  of  Louis  XV.    They  were  enjoying  a  smoke 


388  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

and  chat  while  waiting  for  the  bed  de  tete,  the  social 
event  of  the  year,  to  begin. 

"And  the  old  man  is  a  grandfather,  too,  isn't  he?" 
resumed  the  first  speaker. 

"Oh,  yes,"  returned  the  counterfeit  Prince  of  Join- 
ville.  "He  has  four  or  five  grandchildren  now,  but 
that  makes  no  difference.  He  has  no  hair,  he  has  no 
teeth  of  his  own,  but  he  has  outlived  or  outmaneuvered 
all  his  enemies  and  all  his  rivals,  and  is  still  going 
strong.  They  say  he's  got  his  eye  on  one  of  the 
Countesses  here  to-night,  though  there's  no  one  who 
suits  him  quite  so  well  as  Myrtle." 

"Which  countess  is  he  after?" 

"I  heard,  but  I've  forgotten.  You  see,  there  are 
thirty  members  of  the  real  nobility  of  Europe  here 
right  now,  and  I  can't  remember  names  very  well. 
It's  the  largest  representation  of  the  peerage  ever 
assembled  under  one  American  roof,  and  yet  it's  only 
a  fifth  or  a  sixth  of  the  total  number  of  titled  Ameri- 
cans. We  have  already  bought  a  hundred  in  Britain 
alone.  As  there  are  but  six  hundred  members  of  the 
House  of  Lords,  you  see  it  won't  be  long  before  we  are 
supporting  the  entire  British  nobility.  The  interna- 
tional marriage  market  is  booming,  you  know,  as  never 
before." 

"Well,  the  'Emperor'  has  got  'em  all  beaten  in  wealth 
and  power,  even  if  he  couldn't  get  a  title  in  his  family. 
And  the  whole  country  kow  tows  to  him,  all  right. 
There's  nothing  he  doesn't  dare  to  do.  Why,  to  make 
room  for  this  palace  he  had  a  statue  of  Lincoln  torn 
down,  and  paid  no  attention  to  protests,  and — but  there 
goes  the  music  for  the  grand  march !" 

They  hurried  to  the  ballroom,  arriving  just  in  time 
to  be  spectators  of  the  initial  scene,  but  too  late  to  par- 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  389 

ticipate  in  it  What  appeared  to  be  an  enormous 
dragon  with  multitudinous  feet  was  entering  the  great 
room  from  one  side,  while  from  the  other  a  mail-clad 
knight  advanced  on  horseback  to  meet  it.  He  held 
aloft  a  banner  emblazoned  with  a  cross,  and  brandished 
a  jeweled  sword  at  the  monster's  head.  The  feet  of  his 
white  horse  were  padded  so  as  to  make  no  mark  upon 
the  gleaming  floor. 

"Saint  George  slaying  the  dragon — what  a  clever 
idea!"  remarked  one  of  the  spectators.  "And  that's 
Gorman,  Junior,  on  the  horse.    Watch  him !" 

The  dragon  paused  as  the  horseman  approached, 
and  waited  quietly  to  receive  a  mortal  blow  from  him. 
Then  it  laid  its  tinsel  head  obediently  on  the  floor,  and 
opened  its  monstrous  mouth  as  though  in  a  death 
agony.  And  immediately  there  came  out  of  the  mouth 
a  gorgeously  costumed  company  of  men  and  women, 
and  the  grand  march  was  begun,  while  the  horseman 
rode  off  in  triumph. 

With  firm  tread  and  stately  mien,  C.  Jefferson  Gor- 
man, garbed  as  Louis  XV.,  led  the  march,  on  his  arm 
the  Duchess  of  Montpensier.  Behind  them  came  the 
Duke  of  Orleans  and  Queen  Margaret  of  Valois,  and 
then  followed  scores  of  others  in  glittering  array. 
The  ladies  wore  the  high,  elaborate  coiffures  which 
gave  the  ball  its  name  in  the  days  of  "Le  Bien-Aime," 
and  the  jewels  that  adorned  their  necks  and  arms 
gleamed  and  scintillated  at  times  with  an  almost  blind- 
ing radiance. 

And  so,  in  regal  and  noble  attire,  and  to  the 
sound  of  exquisite  orchestral  harmonies,  they  danced 
away  the  hours  of  night — danced,  as  it  were,  upon 
the  republic's  grave  in  honor  of  the  first  American 
Emperor. 


3SK)  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

In  the  storm-swept  street  without  two  figures  paused, 
and,  turning  their  backs  for  a  time  to  the  boreal  blasts 
that  drove  the  snow  in  drifts  against  the  palace  gates, 
gazed  at  the  brilliantly  lighted  pile.  After  a  moment, 
one  of  them  laughed,  and  there  was  a  bitter  intonation 
to  his  voice  as  he  recited : 

"In  Xanadu  did  Kubla  Khan 
A  stately  pleasure  dome  decree 
Where  Alph,  the  sacred  river,  ran 
Through  caverns  measureless  to  man, 
Down  to  a  sunless  sea." 

"It  is  not  so  far  fetched,  either,"  he  commented, 
"except  that  the  Hudson  does  not  run  through  caverns, 
but  flows  majestically  toward  the  open  sea.  Gorman, 
however,  comes  pretty  near  to  being  the  Emperor  of 
China  as  well  as  of  America;  and  besides  American- 
izing China  he  has  also  just  about  Asiaticized  America, 
so  the  verses  should  apply  either  way." 

"What's  going  on  there  to-night?"  asked  the  other. 
"Some  grand  ball?" 

"Yes;  the  inaugural  ball  of  the  new  empire.  The 
so-called  inauguration  dance  in  Washington,  when  a 
puppet  President  is  put  into  office,  is  but  a  pale  reflec- 
tion of  this.  Anyone  can  attend  that  ball  by  paying 
five  dollars  for  a  ticket.  But  to  be  admitted  to  this  is  a 
distinction  vastly  different  The  President  himself 
cannot  come  here." 

"Just  what  kind  of  a  ball  is  it,  Del?"  inquired  the 
other. 

"Why,  haven't  you  heard  of  the  great  preparations — 
but  no,  you  have  been  too  busy  traveling  about  and 
making  plans  for  our  new  magazine  in  the  West.  Ah, 
I'm  dubious  of  that  magazine's  fate,  Lyle,  since  the 
Progress  was  wrecked  by  the  withdrawal  of  our  credit 


THE  AMERICAN   EMPEROR  39* 

through  the  banks  in  panic  times.  Yet  it's  our  only 
chance,  and  will  die,  if  need  be,  with  our  face  to 
the  front.  But  about  this  ball-it's  a  bal  de  tete  the 
kind  that  came  into  vogue  in  the  sad-bad-mad-glad 
days  of  Louis  Fifteenth  and  the  Pompadour— After 
us  the  deluge,'  vou  know,  and  all  that-though  it 
seems  that  our  people  are  a  long  way  from  starting  a 

deluge."  , 

"But  the  work  we  have  started  must  go  on,  averred 
Lyle  "Have  you  noticed  the  last  census  report  on 
casualties?  Near  fifty  thousand  violent  deaths  a  year 
now  happen  regularly  in  this  country.  The  slaughter 
in  mills,  in  railway  wrecks,  in  mines,  in  fires,  and  by 
murder,  now  totals  more  in  twelve  months  than  were 
slain  at  the  battle  of  Waterloo.  Only  to-day  forty-nine 
people  were  killed  in  a  train  wreck  directly  traceable 
to  stock  jobbery." 

"Yes,  yes,  you  are  right.     The  work  must  go  on, 
even  though  only  the  Socialists  will  help  us." 

"Only  the  Socialists,"  repeated  Lyle,  and  in  the  dim 
Light  from  the  distant  street  lamp  Delaval  could  see 
that  his  fine  eyes  still  burned  with  idealism.     "Don  t 
vou  realize  what  a  power  the  Socialist  party  is  becom- 
ing?   I  teU  vou  it  is  advancing  like  a  rising  tide.    Out 
oAhe  depths  it  is  coming  to  overturn  an  old  and  cor- 
rupt civilization  to  make  room  for  a  new  and  better 
one     No  political  movement  in  history  compares  with 
it.     In  a  decade  its  vote  among  us  has  grown  tenfold. 
A   million   Americans   now   vote   its   ticket.      In   less 
than  a  decade  more,  at  this  rate,  it  will  grapple  with 
this  oligarchy  and  overthrow  it     Here,  at  last,  we 
have    an    economic   philosophy    which   will   keep   the 
majority  from  going  wrong  a  majority  of  the  time. 
We  should  have  begun  to  work  with  the  Socialists 


392  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

years  ago.  All  the  way  from  Finland  to  New  Zealand 
they  are  playing  havoc  with  the  old  order,  and  they 
are  doing  it  with  the  indomitable  force  of  reason.  The 
age-long  fight  will  soon  be  won,  and  the  Rights  of 
Man  will  be  a  realized  dream." 

"It  is  a  wonderful  movement,  in  more  ways  than 
one,"  said  Delaval.  "It  is  wonderful,  apart  from  the 
principles  and  growth  of  the  movement,  that  we  are 
indebted  to  the  German  mind  for  this  most  stupendous 
and  at  the  same  time  most  practical  dream  in  human 
history.  It  is  also  wonderful  that  Germany,  which 
gave  us  the  Reformation,  and  modern  Judaism,  and  the 
best  of  modern  science,  and  the  greatest  of  the  pessi- 
mistic philosophers,  has  now  given  Carl  Marx  and 
Socialism  to  the  world." 

"And  Socialism  is  needed  more  in  America  than  in 
any  other  part  of  Christendom,"  added  Lyle.  "Once 
the  people  understand  it,  I  think  it  is  as  certain  to 
triumph  as  the  earth  is  to  revolve." 

"Perhaps — perhaps.  We  live  to  learn.  But  look  at 
that  spectacle  before  us,  and  study  its  meaning  well 
before  you  prophesy  with  too  great  enthusiasm.  Titles 
cannot  be  legislated  out  of  the  human  heart.  If  we 
are  to  have  a  Socialism  that  will  endure,  it  must  be 
in  a  state  which  has  the  form  if  not  the  substance  of 
a  monarchy.  A  Socialistic  monarchy,  I  would  say, 
would  be  nearest  to  the  ideal  state  that  can  be  realized 
in  human  government.  A  king  as  a  social  head,  with 
power  to  bestow  titles  for  exceptional  achievements 
in  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  an  aristocracy  of  intel- 
lectual rather  than  of  monied  persons — that  should  be 
our  real  aim.  Meanwhile,  Gorman  is  Caesar,  or  rather, 
as  I  have  said  before,  this  country  has  become  another 
Carthage,  and  he  is  the  greatest  tradesman  of  us  all— 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  393 

a  terrible  warning  to  nations  that  would  seek  to  be 
great  without  a  king.  Above  the  chaos  of  laws,  the 
wreck  of  parties,  the  smoke  of  fires,  the  wails  of  the 
plundered,  the  shrieks  of  the  dying — above  the  rivers 
of  blood  from  the  slain,  he  sits  enthroned,  unscathed, 
almost  unsuspected,  supreme." 

They  turned  to  walk  on,  and  after  a  time  Lyle 
said, 

"Poor  Lamar.  His  broken-hearted  widow  has  gone 
to  spend  the  rest  of  her  life  in  England.  That  is 
one  of  the  many  deaths  that  our  'Emperor'  should  have 
to  answer  for  some  time,  somewhere.  But  with  you 
and  me,  Del,  things  could  be  much  worse  than  they 
are,  though  they  could  hardly  be  much  worse  with 
the  country.  We  are  both  happily  married,  and  while 
we  are  temporarily  bankrupt,  we  are  rich  in  love  and 
friendship.  And  we  have  yet  another  chance  to  achieve 
things  for  the  greatest  of  all  causes — humanity." 

"All,  yes.  Theodora  is  worth  fighting  an  endless 
battle  for.  And  your  friendship  alone  is  enough  to 
balance  the  enmity  of  the  world.  Come.  Our  wives 
are  waiting  for  us  in  your  apartment,  where  we  will 
dine  while  we  discuss  our  new  home  in  the  West, 
and  our  plans  for  spreading  the  greatest  of  all  philoso- 
phies— the  philosophy  of  human  brotherhood." 


CHAPTER    XIV 

THE  GREATEST  OF  THEM  ALL 

Yes,  Gorman  was  the  greatest  tradesman  of  them 
all,  as  Delaval  had  said.     But  he  was  more,  far  more 


394  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

than  this.  Though  never  seeking,  never  wanting  for 
himself  official  place,  he  ruled  the  richest  of  republics. 
He  had  never  in  his  own  name  championed  a  public 
policy,  nor  with  forensic  eloquence  exhorted  men  to 
vote,  nor  ever  felt  the  thrill  of  open,  manly  conflict 
in  the  people's  cause.  And  yet  he  put  in  office  whom 
he  chose,  in  city,  state  or  nation.  When  his  pup- 
pets disobeyed  he  snatched  them  ruthlessly  from  power 
and  put  others  in  their  places,  until  none  were  left  who 
dared  oppose  him.  Thus  was  he  the  greatest  politician 
of  them  all. 

He  had  never  penned  a  line  of  purely  literary  worth, 
and  never  could  his  soul  respond  to  lofty  thoughts, 
though  these  were  put  in  burning  words  of  prose  or 
rhyme.  And  yet  he  held  within  his  grasp  the  nation's 
literary  center,  while  he  told  the  people  what  they 
might  or  might  not  read.  Ten  thousand  scribblers  of 
the  current  press  were  now  his  hirelings,  though  many 
were  but  vaguely  conscious  that  they  served  his  throne. 
These  formed  his  loyal  legion.  They  hid  his  acts  in 
vaporous  clouds  of  misinforming  phrases,  or  even  lav- 
ished on  him  praise  for  deeds  most  odious.  They 
lauded  books  his  puppets  wrote,  and  sometimes,  too, 
the  works  of  others,  but  condemned  with  bitter  words, 
or  damned  with  faintest  praise,  or  else  ignored  with 
chilling  silence  every  work  which  threatened  trouble 
to  his  reign.  The  most  ambitious  things  he  ever  wrote 
were  circulars  to  syndicates,  all  couched  in  common 
phrases.  But  these  were  chapters  in  a  wondrous  tale 
of  empire  building,  and  they  brought  him  endless 
golden  royalties,  and  made  him  liege  lord  all  the  way 
from  Arctic  shores  to  Far  Cathay.  And  thus  was  he 
the  greatest  writer  of  them  all. 

He  had  never  played  a  part  upon  the  stage,  nor 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  395 

had  he  yearned  to  do  so.  Neither  muse  of  Tragedy 
nor  Comedy  had  tempted  him,  and  he  cared  nothing 
for  the  world  of  masks  and  make-believe,  of  tinsel  and 
of  imitative  pageantry,  of  mimic  joys  and  griefs  and 
mimic  glories.  Yet  he  held  within  his  comprehensive 
grasp  the  center  of  dramatic  as  of  literary  art,  dic- 
tating to  the  nation  as  to  plays  it  should  or  should 
not  see.  And  he  could  make  or  unmake,  as  he  wished, 
the  fame  of  almost  any  actor,  or  of  almost  any  play 
or  playwright.  And  from  off  the  stage  he  chose  its 
fairest  women  as  his  mistresses,  and  added  to  their 
fame,  and  gave  them  private  cars  and  yachts  and 
jewels  beyond  their  dreams,  and  for  his  favorite  Pom- 
padour he  built  a  theater  of  marbled  beauty.  He  him- 
self had  lived  a  life  as  wondrous  as,  if  not  more 
wonderful,  than  any  drama  ever  penned,  so  why  should 
he  care  greatly  for  the  tinseled  counterfeit  of  life, 
the  players  in  which  were  but  his  puppets,  in  a  double 
sense,  when  he  so  willed  ?  He  wore  a  thousand  masks, 
and  he  could  be,  and  often  was,  in  many  places  at  a 
time  by  aid  of  those  in  every  calling  who  were  glad 
to  serve  him.  All  the  world  had  now  become  his  stage. 
And  thus  was  he  the  greatest  actor  of  them  all. 

He  had  never  touched  a  canvas  with  a  brush,  nor 
moulded  clay,  nor  put  a  chisel  to  a  marble  block,  nor 
ever  felt  the  rapture  which  exalts  an  artist's  soul  as  in 
his  hands  a  thing  of  beauty  to  perfection  grows,  nor 
his  despair  as  his  Ideal,  with  elusive  witchery,  evades 
his  grasp.  No  work  of  art,  not  even  inspired  music, 
ever  wooed  his  sordid  soul  from  earthly  thoughts  to 
higher  things.  And  yet  he  ruled  a  nation's  art.  His 
galleries  set  the  standard,  and  his  critics  praised  as 
he  directed,  or  condemned  at  his  behest.  And  more, 
the  people  learned  to  look  upon  him  as  a  high-souled 


396  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

patron  of  the  arts,  this  man  who,  by  his  hellish  art 
of  piracy  disguised  as  trade,  took  from  them  scores 
of  millions,  and  gave  back  a  scanty  few  in  public 
benefits.  The  churches  sang  his  praises,  seats  of 
learning  showered  him  with  degrees,  academies  of 
science  named  new  jewels  in  his  honor,  sculptors  carved 
ideal  statues  of  his  form,  and  sycophantic  wielders  of 
the  brush  belibeled  Art  to  image  him  as  handsome 
rather  than  repellent  to  the  general  view.  In  ways 
like  this  he  made  himself  a  nation's  idol.  Thus  was  he 
the  greatest  artist  of  them  all. 

He  had  never  known  the  joy  of  the  inventor  in 
creating  something  new  for  human  use.  And  he 
had  only  vague  ideas  of  the  ways  in  which  electric 
power  and  steam  were  made  to  turn  the  wheels  of 
industry.  Of  how  great  engines  pulled  long  trains 
across  the  continent,  or  of  the  many  processes  of 
making  steel,  or  how  machinery  sowed  and  reaped 
the  golden  grain,  or  how  the  shades  of  night  were 
banished  with  electric  splendor,  or  of  how  great 
steamers  were  propelled  across  the  seas,  he  knew  but 
little,  or  perhaps  knew  nothing.  And  yet  he  ruled 
the  nation's  railways  and  its  steamship  lines,  and  all  its 
steel  mills,  and  the  factories  wherein  were  made  ma- 
chines to  seize  electric  power  from  the  elements.  And 
even  on  far  Alaska's  shores  men  toiled  in  boreal  cold 
to  coax  from  out  the  frozen  breast  of  earth  her  golden 
streams  of  wealth,  or  over  polar  seas  they  chased  the 
slippery  seal,  or  they  enmeshed  the  silvery  salmon  for 
his  gain,  the  while,  in  Oriental  lands,  unnumbered  slant- 
eyed  millions  slaved  to  pay  him  tribute.  "What  hath 
God  wrought  ?"  asked  Morse,  inventor  of  the  telegraph, 
in  his  first  message  over  wires.  And  now  one 
man,  who  knew  but  little  of  the  science  of  telegraphy, 


THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR  397 

and  cared  still  less,  had  seized  in  his  titanic  grip  three 
million  miles  of  telegraphic  wires,  besides  twelve  mil- 
lion miles  of  telephonic  wires,  the  nation's  all.  And 
this  had  Gorman  wrought.  Yes.  this  and  other  won- 
ders had  he  wrought  in  Wall  Street  by  the  system 
his  creative  brain  had  built  to  make  himself  the  master 
spirit  of  his  time.  And  thus  was  he  the  chief  inventor 
of  them  all. 

He  had  never  dreamt  the  dream  of  alchemists,  who 
hope  to  change  the  baser  metals  into  gold.  He  never 
yearned  to  find  the  fabled  stone  of  the  philosopher,  of 
old  believed  to  be  the  key  to  this  most  subtle  and  elusive 
art.  Nor  had  the  ancient  tales  of  magic  ever  lured 
his  mind  from  sordid  thoughts.  And  yet,  compared 
with  things  that  he  achieved,  the  fantasies  of  alchemy 
seemed  tame,  and  many  of  the  weirdest  tales  of  Araby 
took  on  the  hue  of  truth.  For  he  transmuted  into  gold 
the  coal  and  iron  from  scores  of  mines,  and  steel  and 
other  metals  which  he  never  touched  or  saw,  and  with 
this  gold  formed  syndicates  that  issued  stocks  and 
bonds  of  little  worth,  and  these,  likewise,  he  changed 
to  gold  at  highest  prices.  And  by  the  Stock  Exchange's 
magic  art  he  forced  the  buyers  of  these  things  to  sell 
them  back  again  at  lesser  values,  and  again,  and  yet 
again,  and  so  on  endlessly,  he  sold  at  highest  rates 
and  bought  back  at  the  lowest,  till  his  vaults  were 
reservoirs  that  held  a  nation's  gold.  And  then  in 
various  bewildering  ways  he  juggled  all  this  aureate 
wealth,  and  while  the  fascinated  people  looked  he  made 
it  grow  to  even  greater  bulk,  enlarging  it  by  streams 
from  out  of  their  own  pockets,  though  they  knew  it 
not.  Nor  could  they  see  that  underneath  his  throne 
there  flowed  a  river  filled  with  blood  and  tears. 

They  marveled  at  his  necromancy,  and   suspected 


398  THE  AMERICAN  EMPEROR 

not  how  many  genii  of  the  lamp  were  slaving  for  him 
on  the  press,  as  well  as  in  the  darksome  caverns  under- 
ground, nor  how  so  many  more  than  forty  thieves 
were  serving  him  within  the  portals  of  the  Stock 
Exchange.  But  greater  far  than  other  wonders  was 
his  feat  in  changing  the  republic  to  an  empire,  and 
concealing  this  from  all  except  a  chosen  few.  His  was 
the  subtlest  alchemy,  and  his  the  blackest  of  black  arts 
in  all  the  world.  And  thus  was  he  the  greatest  alchem- 
ist, the  chief  magician  of  them  all. 


THE  END 


